Section  .  I    \  cL 


BIBLICAL   IIEVIEW 


INTENDED  AS  A  NEW  AND  IMPEOVBdV   ^ 


MAF;251S27 


COMMENTARY   ON  THE    BIBLE: 


WHEREIN   THE  AUTHOR  ATTEMPTS  TO   GIVE  MORE 


MTIOML  INTEEPRETATONS  OF  SUBJECTS  AND  PASSAGES, 


THAN  ARE  COMMON  IN  WORKS  HAVING  THE  SAME  GENERAL  PURPOSE;  ON  A 
PLAN  THAT    RENDERS    THE     BOOK    AS    WELL    FITTED    FOB 
READING  AS  FOR  REFERENCE. 


VOL.  I. 


BY  REV.  W.  E.  MANLEY. 


AUBURN : 

PUBLISHED   BY  THE  AUTHOR. 
1869. 


Entered  according  to  Act  ot  Congress,  in  the  year  1859,  by 
■W.    E.    M  A  N  LE  Y, 
tiiu  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court    of  Mjusachusetts- 


PREFACE 


The  author  of  this  volume,  has,  for  many  years, 
entertained  the  purpose  of  preparing  a  work  upon  the 
Bible,  that  should  present  more  rational  views  of  that 
venerable  book,  and  of  the  subjects  contained  therein, 
than  are  commonly  put  forth  in  other  works,  having 
the  same  general  object ;  and  the  present  volume  is 
an  attempt  to  carry  out  that  purpose.  We  have  wait- 
ed for  circumstances  to  be  more  favorable  to  the 
execution  of  this  design,  till  we  have  become  con- 
vinced that  waiting  for  favorable  circumstances  is  not 
the  best  way  to  accomphsh  any  important  object. 
We  have  not  had  access  to  as  many  valuable  books, 
relating  to  the  subjects  treated  of,  as  we  could  have 
desired ;  and  hence  our  interpretations  are  mostly 
original ;  but  this  circumstance  we  do  not  so  much 
regret,  when  we  consider  the  tendency  of  writers  to 
rely  on  other  authors,  where  they  have  them  a*t  hand, 
and  can  easily  consult  them,  rather  than  make  the 
requisite  effort  to  search  out  original  facts,  in  w^hich 
case,  however  skilfully  the  borrowed  knowledge  may 
be  applied,  the  aggregate  of  human  ideas  has  received 
no  accessions.  If,  therefore,  the  present  work  is  less 
highly  valued,  (or  if  it  be  less  highly  valuable,)  on 
account  of  its  comparative  deficiency  in  references  to 
standard  authors  or  quotations  therefrom,  we  trust 
that  this  lack  may  be  compensated,  in  part,  if  not 
wholly,  by  certain  original  thoughts  (or  what  seems 
to  the  author  to  be  such,  though  scores  of  others, 


iv  PREFACE. 

whom  he  has  not  consulted,  may  have  entertained  the 
same)  which  we  have  put  forth  on  various  subjects 
we  have  had  occasion  to  refer  to  and  discuss. 

If  our  views  on  some  topics  (inspiration  for  exam- 
ple, visions,  etc.,)  are  regarded  by  any  as  unsound, 
we  hope  they  will  hold  the  author  alone  responsible, 
who  would  be  understood  as  speaking  only  for  himself, 
and  not  for  others,  either  in  his  own  denomination  or 
out  of  it,  who  may  and  may  not  hold  the  same  opin- 
ions. We  feel  a  sincere  respect  and  reverence  for 
the  Bible,  both  from  education  and  from  the  views  we 
have  of  its  teachings  ;  but  our  respect  for  that  book 
does  not  require  nor  permit  us  to  entertain  views 
concerning  it,  that  plainly  conflict  with  the  facts  of 
its  history  in  the  world,  and  which  can  be  accepted 
by  none  but  the  ignorant  and  superstitious,  and  the 
truth  of  which  would  imply  a  perpetual  miracle,  as 
unnecessary  as  the  facts  on  which  the  presumption 
of  its  reality  rests,  are  untrue.  The  Bible  must  be 
accepted,  at  the  present  day,  if  accepted  at  all,  on 
reasonable  grounds,  (reasonable,  not  in  view  of  a 
very  limited  number  of  facts,  from  which  men  too 
generally  form  their  conclusions,  but  in  view  of  all 
the  facts  having  a  bearing  on  the  subject ;)  and  if  it 
cannot  be  defended  on  such  grounds,  it  will  and 
ought  to  be  rejected. 

We  believe  it  can  be  defended  on  such  grounds, 
when  we  regard  it  with  reference  to  the  claims  which 
are  put  forth  in  the  book  itself,  and  not  the  claims 
that  men  have  falsely  set  up  for  it.  We  have  been 
influenced  by  an  ardent  desire  to  give  such  views 
of  subjects,  and  such  interpretations  of  texts,  as  are 
true  and  at  the  same  time  fitted  to  restore  the  confi- 
dence of  thinking  men  for  the  sacred  volume,  which 
has  been  weakened,  and  in  many  minds,  destroyed, 
by  the  false  and  unreasonable  claims  that  have  been 
set  up  for  the  Bible,  as  well  as  the  interpretations 
of  its  contents  that  are  sanctioned  neither  by  reason 
nor  facts. 


PREFACE.  V 

The  plan  of  this  work,  is  believed  to  be  an  improve- 
ment on  the  usual  plan  of  Commentaries,  as  better 
fitted  for  reading,  and  not  less  for  reference.  It  is 
well  known  that  Commentaries  are  owned  by  but  few 
persons  —  that,  when  owned,  they  are  seldom  referred 
to,  and  almost  never  read — not  that  the  matters  con- 
tained therein  are  unimportant,  for  their  importance 
is  conceded  by  most  persons,  not  excepting  those  who 
never  consult  them ;  but  because  the  form  in  which 
they  are  presented  is  not  fitted  to  make  the  reading 
easy  or  interesting.  We  expect  Dictionaries  to  be 
read,  as  much  as  we  do  Commentaries  ;  and  they  are 
read  perhaps  quite  as  much.  Both  are  useful  for 
reference  ;  and  both  are  referred  to  —  the  former 
frequently,  as  the  occasion  requiring  such  reference 
is  frequent,  the  latter  seldom,  since  men  seldom  feel 
any  necessity  for  so  doing.  In  view  of  this  consider- 
ation, we  have  sought  to  make  our  work  a  readable 
one  ;  and  though  this  may  be  difficult  from  the  nature 
of  the  work,  we  trust  we  have  done  something  in  this 
direction,  if  not  as  much  as  is  desirable.  As  we  shall 
issue  only  a  moderate  sized  volume  at  once,  we  feel 
the  more  confidence  that  the  work  will  be  read ;  for 
it  is  well  known  that  men  will  read  more,  when  they 
have  small  books  to  read,  than  when  they  have  large 
ones. 

As  we  treat  the  contents  of  the  Bible  by  subjects 
rather  than  by  texts,  we  do  not  always  follow  the 
order  of  passages  given  in  the  Bible ;  but  an  Index 
of  passages,  in  the  regular  order,  will  enable  the 
reader  at  once  to  refer  to  any  passage  he  may  wish 
to  consult ;  and  the  numbering  of  the  paragraphs 
will  aid  those  who  may  desire  to  study  the  book. 

If  some  subjects  are  treated  more  extensively  in 
this  volume  than  is  deemed  suitable  for  such  a  work, 
and  others  are  thought  not  to  have  received  sufficient 
attention,  we  would  simply  say,  that,  in  our  judgment, 


VI  PREFACE. 

the  first  class  of  subjects  here  referred  to,  have  gen- 
erally received  too  little  attention  in  other  works,  and 
the  other  class,  too  much  ;  and  it  has  been  our  inten- 
tion to  obviate  this  objection,  in  doing  which,  we  may 
have  gone  to  the  opposite  extreme  or  in  that  direction. 
Whether  we  have  or  have  not,  is  merely  a  matter 
of  opinion.  We  have  acted  according  to  our  best 
judgment  in  the  matter. 

With  these  observations,  concerning  our  humble 
effort,  we  submit  the  present  volume  to  the  judgment 
and  candor  of  all  who  respect  the  Bible  and  wish  to 
understand  its  teachings. 

Chicago,  1858.  W.  E.  M. 


INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 


Abel  —  page  218.  Abram,  Biography  of,  240-279.  Adam,  Biog- 
raphy of,  211-226.  Animals,  Domestic,  86 ;  Wild,  87;  in  the 
Ark,  185.  Antiquity,  of  Genesis  9 ;  of  the  Earth,  124;  of 
Man,  124,  152.  Ararat,  mountains  of,  190,  104.  ARCiiiEOLo- 
GY,  70-103.  Ark,  184.  Arts,  98.  Attributes  of  God,  192. 
Author  of  Genesis,  15. 

Bara,  (create,)  56.  Battle  of  the  kings,  247.  Birth  and  Birth- 
right, 71;  birth  of  Abel,  217;  of  Isaac,  267;  of  Esau,  and  Ja- 
cob, 281.  Blessing,  of  Esau  and  Jacob  by  Isaac,  288;  of  Jo- 
seph's sons  by  Jacob,  365  ;  of  Jacob's  sons  by  their  father,  367. 
Burial  Customs,  78. 

Cain,  218  ;  "  Where  did  he  get  his  wife  "  160,  162.  Cause  of  the 
Deluge,  Moral,  174;  Physical,  175.  Chronology,  119-121. 
Cities  and  Towns,  106-118.  Circumcision  instituted,  254. 
Commerce,  90.  Composition  of  Genesis,  16-24.  Contracts, 
90.  Contract  of  Jacob  with  Laban,  309.  Condition  primitive, 
of  the  Earth,  137.  Confusion  of  tongues,  236.  Covenant  Avith 
Noah,  230  ;  with  Abimelech,  269,  286.  Creation  considered, 
&c.,  137-156;  of  man  156;  of  Adam  and  Eve,  212.  Creator, 
necessity  of,  135.  Criticism,  52-70;  on  Elohim,  53;  on  Bara, 
56;  on  Rhua  and  Nephish,  58;  on  Olim,  64;  on  Sheol,  65;  on 
Malak,  67.     Cup  of  Joseph,  354. 

Dates,  119.  Daughters  of  Lot,  264,  75.  Days  of  Creation,  155. 
Death  and  Burial  Customs,  78  ;  death  of  Adam,  220 ;  of  Noah, 
232;  of  Sarah,  273;  of  Abraham,  279  ;  of  Isaac,  329;  ofKachel, 
327  ;  of  Jacob,  372  ;  of  Joseph,  374.  Deluge  and  Geology,  174 
-184  ;  duration  of,  187  ;  extent  of,  176.  Divisions,  geographi- 
cal, 103.  Doctrines  of  Theology,  191-210.  Domestic  uten- 
sils, 82  ;  animals,  86.  Dress,  79.  Dreams,  of  Jacob,  299,  311 ; 
of  Joseph,  329  ;  of  the  butler  and  baker,  339  ;  of  Phaifioh,  341. 

Elohim,  (God),  53.  Esau  sells  his  birthright,  282.  Eve,  crea- 
tion of,  214.     Existence  of  God,  123-136. 

Family  of  Adam,  217;  oflshmael,  280;  of  Esau,  291;  of  Jacob, 
303.     Famine,  361.     Food,  85  ;  during  Flood,  187. 

Garden  of  Eden,  201.  Genealogy  of  Cain,  220;  of  Seth,  221 ; 
of  Shem,  233  ;  of  Ham,  235  ;  of  Japhet,  238.  Geography,  103 
-118.  Geology  and  the  Creation,  137-156.  Government,  93. 
God  and  his  Attributes,  192.  Groves,  105.  Gomorrah,  de- 
stroyed, 260. 

Habitations,  81.  Hagar  given  to  Abram,  252;  rejected,  268. 
Hospitality,  97. 


VIU  INDEX   OF   SUBJECTS. 

Inspiration,  24.  Interview  at  Mt.  Gilead,  313  ;  of  the  brethren 
with  Pharaoh,  359 ;  of  Israel  with  Pharaoh,  360.  Ishmael,  280. 
Isaac,  281. 

Jacob,  298.  Joseph  sold,  329.  Journey  of  the  brethren  to 
Egypt,  346,  350  ;  of  Israel  357. 

King  of  Edom,  295.     Kings,  battle  of,  247. 

Language  of  Genesis,  39.  Lot  separates  from  Abram,  245 ;  his 
daughters,  264. 

Malak,  (angel,)  67.  Marriage,  74 ;  second,  of  Abraham,  278 ; 
of  Jacob,  302.  Measures  and  Weights,  100.  Moral  cause  of 
Deluge,  174.  Mountains,  104;  of  Ararat,  190.  Meeting  of 
Jacob  and  Esau,  319. 

Nahor,  272.  Name  of  Genesis,  9.  National  designations,  118. 
Natural  causes  of  Creation,  considered,  131.  Nature  and  re- 
sponsibiHty  of  Man,  195.  Nephish,  (soul,)  58.  Noah  blessed, 
228.  Number  of  animals  in  the  Ark,  185.  Nuptials  of  Adam 
and  Eve,  214. 

Oaths,  90.  Occupation,  83.  Offering  of  Isaac,  270.  Olim, 
(forever,)  64.     Oriental  hospitahty,  97.     Ornaments,  79. 

Patriarchal  wealth,  88.  Parentage  and  relations  of  Abraham, 
240.  Physical  causes  of  Deluge,  175.  Plains,  105.  Pha- 
raoh's dreams,  341.  Possibility  of  Deluge,  176.  Probabil- 
ity of  Deluge,  178.  Prediction  of  Noah,  231.  Proofs  of  the 
Deluge,  180.     Pursuit  of  Jacob,  313. 

Readings,  various,  50.  Relations  of  Abraham,  240.  Religion 
of  Patriarchs,  102.  Removal  of  Abram  to  Haran,  241 ;  of 
Isaac  to  Beersheba,  285;  of  Jacob  to  Egypt,  357.  Return  of 
Jacob  to  Isaac,  327.  Rewards  and  Punishments,  199.  Rhua, 
(spirit,)  58.     Rivers,  105.- 

Salutation,  98.  Sarah,  death  of,  273.  Seas,  106.  Seir,  295, 
Servitude,  95.  Sheol,  (grave,)  65.  Silver  Cup,  352.  So- 
journ of  Abram  in  Gerar,  265;  of  Isaac  in  Gerar,  283;  of  Ja- 
cob in  Shalem,  321.     Style  of  Genesis,  45. 

Temptation,  217.  Theological  doctrines  191.  Trade  and 
Commerce,  90:  Truth  of  Genesis,  31.  Theories  of  Creation, 
131,  134;  of  the  Races,  165,  171;  of  Inspiration,  25.  Triumph 
of  good,  200. 

Unity  of  God,  53,  195  ;  of  the  Races,  160,  163.    Utensils,  82. 
Various  readings,  50.     Valleys,  105.    Visions,  214,  246,  250, 

254,  258,  260,  317,  358. 
Wars,  92.     Wealth,  88.    Weights,  100.     AVild  animals,  87. 

Wilderness,  105.    Wife  for  Isaac,  275.    Wives  of  Esau,  292. 

Words  criticised,  52.    World  not  eternal,  129. 


PART  I. 


INTRODUCTION 


CHAPTER  I. 

CHABACTER  OF  THE  BOOK  OP  QEIfESIS. 

Contents.  —  Its  Name — Antiquity — Author— Composition — Inspira- 
tion— Truth — Language— Style — Various  Readings. 

SECTION  I.— Name  of  the  Book. 

1.  The  first  book  in  the  Bible  is  called  in  Hebrew, 
BeresJiith,  that  being  the  word  with  which  the  book 
begins.  The  Hebrews  were  accustomed  to  name  the 
books  of  the  Bible  in  this  way.  The  name  "  Genesis  " 
is  Greek,  and  has  the  meaning  of  generation  or  origin, 
and  is  given  to  the  book  on  account  of  the  subject  of 
which  it  first  treats. 

SECTION  II.— Its  Antiquity. 

2.  How  do  we  know  that  the  book  we  call  the  Bible 
is  an  ancient  book,  and  made  its  first  appearance  in 
the  world  at  a  far  distant  period  in  the  past  ?  And 
how  do  we  know  the  dates  of  the  several  books  of 
w4iich  it  is  composed?  We  propose  briefly  to  answer 
these  questions.  There  is  a  regular  succession  of 
writers,  both  Christian  and  Infidel,  from  the  days  of 
Christ  down  to  the  present  time  —  all  recognizing  the 
existence  of  certain  sacred  books  called  the  "  Bible," 

1* 


10  INTRODUCTION. 

"  Scriptures/'  or  by  some  similar  designation.  Such 
references  prove  the  existence  of  the  Bible,  back  as 
far  as  the  Christian  era.  But  the  New  Testament  con- 
tains many  references  to  sacred  writings,  still  more 
ancient.  It  speaks  of  them  as  the  '^  Law  and  the 
Prophets/'  or  the  "  Law,  Prophets  and  Psalms,"  or  by 
some  other  equivalent  name.  The  Law  is  usually  as- 
sociated with  the  name  of  Moses ;  and  the  Prophets 
are  sometimes  called  by  name  ;  and  when  they  are  not 
tlms  designated,  they  are  still  clearly  identified  by 
passages  quoted  from  them,  corresponding  with  such 
as  Ave  now  find  in  the  prophetical  Avritings.  Other 
writers,  who  lived  near  the  time  of  Christ,  furnish  us 
with  similar  references.  Philo  and  Josephus,  both 
Jewish  writers  of  repute,  often  refer  to  the  Scriptures. 
Josephus  gives  us  a  particular  account  of  the  books 
held  sacred  by  the  Jews  ;  and  these  correspond 
with  the  books  we  now  have  in  the  Old  Testament  col- 
lection. Besides,  in  giving  us  his  History  of  the  Jews, 
ho-  quotes  largely  from  the  sacred  writings ;  and  it  is 
certain-that  the  Bible  he  refers  to,  and  quotes  from,  is 
the  same  book  we  now  designate  by  that  name. 

3.  Nearly  three  hundred  years  farther  back  than 
the  time  of  these  writers,  and  soon  after  the  last  of 
the  Old  Testament  books  was  written,  we  find  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Jewish  Bible  into  the  Greek  language, 
(though  some  portions  of  this  translation  may  have  a 
later  date,)  which  was  generally  adopted  and  used  by 
that  people,  in  Egypt,  Palestine,  and  other  countries. 

4.  Thus  the  Bible  is  proved  to  have  been  in  exist- 
ence nearly  as  far  back  as  the  date  of  the  last  book  of 
the  collection ;  and  this  remark  applies  to  the  Old 
Testament,  as  well  as  the  New.  But  how  do  we 
know  that  some  of  these  books  date  still  further  back  ? 
And  if  this  fact  can  be  ascertained,  how  are  we  to  deter- 
mine the  particular  date  of  each  book?  To  these 
questions  satisfactory  answers  can  be  given,  from 
several  considerations ;  for,  though  the  exact  date  of 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

each  book  may  not  be  ascertained,  a  sufficient  approx- 
imation to  that  result  can  be  arrived  at. 

5.  The  later  books  of  the  Old  Testament  refer  to 
earlier  books,  sometimes  directly,  and  sometimes  indi- 
rectly. The  book  of  Moses  (for  what  are  now  five 
books,  was  originally  one  book)  is  referred  to  by 
Ezra,  one  of  the  latest  of  the  prophets.  He  speaks  of 
the  people  gathering  themselves,  and  offering  sacri- 
fices, as  required  in  the  "  Law  of  Moses,  the  man  of 
God."  He  speaks  of  "  the  Priests  in  their  divisions, 
and  the  Levites  in  their  courses  for  the  service  of 
God,  which  is  at  Jerusalem,  as  it  is  written  in  the 
book  of  Moses."  Nehemiah,  cotemporary  with  Ezra, 
also  speaks  of  certain  things  '^  written  in  the  Law  ;  " 
and  they  are  things  found  in  the  Law  of  Moses  now 
in  our  hands.  He  mentions  ^'  God's  Law  which  Avas 
given  by  Moses,  the  servant  of  God ; "  and  he  desig- 
nates a  number  of  the  laws  and  institutions  of  Moses. 
The  earlier  Prophets  make  frequent  references  to  tlie 
same  book,  or  Law  of  Moses ;  and  they  thereby  con- 
firm the  alleged  antiquity  of  that  portion  of  the  Bible. 
We  find  such  references  in  Ezekiel,  Jeremiah,  Micah, 
Isaiah,  Hosea,  and  Amos.  There  are  numerous  refer- 
ences of  a  similar  character  in  the  Psalms  ;  also  in  the 
Kings,  Chronicles,  Samuel,  Judges,  and  Euth.  The 
author  of  the  books  of  Kings,  speaks  of  the  "Law  of 
Moses,"  and  the  "  Book  of  the  Law  of  Moses,"  and  of 
things  written  therein,  corresponding  with  what  we 
now  find  there;  and  the  author  of  Chronicles  refers 
to  the  "  Book  of  Moses,"  and  to  the  "  Book  of  the  Law 
of  the  Lord."  In  Joshua,  too,  we  read  of  the  "Book 
of  the  Law,"  and  the  "  Book  of  the  LaAv  of  Moses  ;  " 
and  it  is  said  to  have  been  a  guide  to  that  hero  in  the 
conquest  of  Canaan. 

6.  The  following  references,  showing  the  truth  of 
the  foregoing  statements,  may  be  passed  over  by  the 
reader,  if  he  desires,  and  consulted  by  such  only  as 
wish  to  studi/  the  subject.     See  Ezra  iii.  2;  vi.  18; 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

Neh.  X.  34,  36,  29  ;  1  Kings  ii.  3  ;  ix.  9  ;  xii.  28  ;  2 
Kings  xiv.  6  ;  xxi.  4-7  ;  1  Chron.  xvi.  14-18  ;  2  Chron. 
xvii.  9 ;  xxiii.  18 ;  1  Sam.  iv.  8 ;  x.  18 ;  xii.  8 ;  2  Sam. 
vii.  23  ;  Ruth  iv.  11,  12  ;  Judges  vi.  7-13.  Compare 
Ezek.  XX.  10-28  with  Ex.  xiii.  3  ;  xiv.  11 ;  Lev.  x.  10, 
11 ;  xviii.  5  ;  Num.  xiv.  11.  Compare  Jer.  xi.  1-8,  with 
Deut.  iv.  20;  xi.  13,  14;  xxvii.  26.  Compare  Micah 
vi.  4,  5,  with  Deut.  iv.  20 ;  Num.  xxii.  1-3.  Compare 
Isa.  i.  9,  with  Gen.  xix.  24,  25.  Compare  Hosea  xii. 
12,  13,  with  Gen.  xxix.  18 ;  xxvii.  43 — 45  ;  Hosea  xii. 
3-5,  with  Gen.  xxv.  26;  xxviii.  12;  xxxii.  24;  Hosea 
xi.  8,  with  Gen.  xix.  25.  Compare  Amos  ii.  9,  with 
Num.  xiii.  33.  Consult  Psl.  Ixxviii.,  and  compare  with 
it,  Deut.  iv.  9  ;  Ex.  xxxii.  9  ;  xiv.  21 ;  xiii.  21 ;  xvii. 
6.  Consult  also  Psl.  Ixxxiii.  and  Psls.  cv.,  cvi.,  and 
cxxxvi.  See  1  Sam.  iv.  8  ;  x.  18  ;  xii.  8  ;  2  Sam.  vii. 
23  ;  Ruth  iv.  11,  12  ;  Judges  vi.  7-13  ;  Josh.  i.  8  ;  viii. 
31,  34;  xi.  12;  xxiii.  6,  10.  And,  aside  from  direct 
references  in  these  books,  the  transactions  they  record, 
are  based  on  the  truth  of  the  previous  records.  They 
have  the  same  localities,  customs,  institutions,  &c., 
with  such  variations  only  as  the  progress  of  affairs 
would  necessarily  require. 

7.  Thus,  all  through  the  Old  Testament  Writings, 
back  to  the  time  of  Moses,  we  find  references  to  the 
books  we  now  have  that  pass  under  his  name.  And 
we  may  safely  affirm  that  there  is  no  book  of  ancient 
times,  in  which  such  references  could  be  expected, 
where  they  are  not  found.  And  as  to  Genesis,  there 
can  be  no  doubt  as  to  its  being  the  first  of  the  five 
books,  since  its  contents  are  such  as  to  give  it  that 
place ;  and  so  far  as  we  know,  it  has  always  occupied 
that  position. 

8.  We  may  add  to  the  above,  several  other  facts, 
that  will  tend  to  confirm  our  position,  as  to  the  an- 
tiquity of  the  books  we  now  call  the  Pentateuch.  One 
is,  that  tlie  Jews  and  the  Samaritans,  both  have  these 
books ;  and  ^he  hostility  that  has  always  existed  be- 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

tween  these  two  branches  of  the  family  of  Israel, 
makes  it  obvious  that  the  one  did  not  obtain  them 
from  the  other,  and  that,  therefore,  both  must  have 
been  in  possession  of  them,  at  the  time  the  separation 
took  place  ;  (B.  C.  975  ;)  and  whatever  views  we  may 
have  of  the  record,  as  true  or  false,  we  must  allow 
considerable  time  to  have  elapsed  before  a  book  of 
such  claims  and  of  so  much  importance,  could  have 
come  into  existence,  and  have  gained  the  universal 
acceptance  of  the  people ;  and  this  allowance  being 
made,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  place  the  book  in  the 
age  to  which  it  is  generally  referred,  and  to  which 
its  records  apply. 

9.  Another  fact  is  important.  There  are  some  va- 
riations between  the  copy  in  the  hands  of  the  Jews, 
and  the  one  possessed  by  the  Samaritans,  resulting 
obviously  from  the  many  transcriptions  through  which 
they  have  respectively  passed.  This  circumstance  is 
favorable  to  the  antiquity  of  the  book,  for  the  varia- 
tions here  referred  to,  could  not  have  arisen,  except 
through  the  lapse  of  many  centuries.  Another  cir- 
cumstance may  be  mentioned  in  this  connection.  It 
not  unfrequently  occurs  that  some  later  author  has 
added  to  the  earlier  records,  occasional  explanatory 
remarks,  with  a  view  generally  to  connect  the  monu- 
ments of  former  days,  with  his  own  times.  Such  re- 
marks, which  are  themselves  very  ancient,  presuppose 
a  considerable  period,  during  which  the  book  must 
have  been  in  existence,  to  require  any  explanation  to 
be  added,  or  to  furnish  a  reason  for  such  additions. 

10.  The  difference  of  style  between  the  modern, 
and  more  ancient  books  of  the  Bible,  has  been  noticed 
by  some  writers,  and  is  indeed  an  important  consider- 
ation. ^^  It  is  an  undeniable  fact  that  Hebrew  ceased 
to  be  the  language  of  the  Jews,  during  the  Babylonish 
captivity ;  and  that  the  Jewish  productions  after  that 
period,  were  in  general  either  Chaldee  or  Greek.  .  .  . 
It  necessarily  follows,  therefore,  that  every  book  that 


14  INTRODUCTION. 

is  written  in  pure  Hebrew,  was  composed,  either  be- 
fore or  about  the  time  of  the  Babylonish  captivity. 
This  being  admitted,  we  may  advance  a  step  farther, 
and  contend  that  the  period  which  elapsed  between 
the  most  ancient  and  most  modern  book  of  the  Old 
Testament,  was  very  considerable  ;  or  in  other  words, 
that  the  most  ancient  books  of  the  Old  Testament 
were  written  a  length  of  ages  prior  to  the  Babylonish 
captivity.  No  language  continues  during  many  cen- 
turies in  the  same  state  of  cultivation ;  and  the 
Hebrew,  like  other  tongues,  passed  through  the  seve- 
ral stages  of  infancy,  youth,  manhood,  and  old  age. 
If,  therefore,  on  comparison,  the  several  parts  of  the 
Hebrew  Bible  are  found  to  differ,  not  only  in  regard 
to  style,  but  also  in  regard  to  character  and  cultiva- 
tion of  language ;  if  the  one  discovers  the  golden, 
another  the  silver,  a  third  the  brazen,  a  fourth  the 
iron  age,  we  have  strong  internal  marks  of  their  hav- 
ing been  composed  at  different  and  distant  periods. 
No  classical  scholar,  independent  of  Grecian  history, 
would  believe  that  the  poems  ascribed  to  Homer  were 
written  in  the  age  of  Demosthenes,  or  the  orations  of 

Demosthenes  in  the  time  of  Origen For  the 

very  same  reason,  it  is  certain  that  the  ^ve  books  as- 
cribed to  Moses,  were  not  written  in  the  time  of  Da- 
vid, the  Psalms  of  David  in  the  age  of  Isaiah,  nor  the 
Prophecies  of  Isaiah  in  the  time  of  Malachi.  But  it 
appears  from  what  was  said  above  in  regard  to  the 
extinction  of  the  Hebrew  language,  that  the  book  of 
Malachi  could  not  have  been  written  much  later  than 
the  Babylonish  captivity :  before  that  period,  there- 
fore, were  written  the  Prophecies  of  Isaiah,  still  earli- 
er the  Psalms  of  David,  and  much  earlier  than  these, 
the  books  which  are  ascribed  to  Moses." — Home's  In- 
troduction, vol.  ii.  p.  18. 

11.  This  argument  is  strengthened  b}^  the  fact  that 
the  language  of  the  Hebrews,  like  their  social  cus- 
toms, underwent  changes  very  slowly  ;  and  that  slight 


INTRODUCTION.  15 

differences  between  Malachi  and  Isaiah,  or  Isaiah  and 
David;  or  David  and  Moses,  would  indicate  much  long- 
er intervening  periods,  than  would  be  expected,  aside 
from  this  consideration.  And  a  proper  allowance  be- 
ing made,  we  shall  find  no  difficulty  in  regarding  the 
Pentateuch  as  belonging  to  the  time  of  Moses. 

SECTION  III. — Author  of  the  Book. 

12.  That  the  Pentateuch  was  written  by  Moses,  is 
the  uniform  testimony  of  antiquity  ;  and  no  dissenting 
opinion  was  ever  expressed  until  very  modern  times. 
This  fact  ought  of  itself  to  be  deemed  satisfactory  in 
a  case  of  this  kind.  If  the  Book  had  had  any  other 
author,  the  fact  would  have  been  known,  and  would 
have  been  stated,  or  at  least  implied,  in  some  of  the 
numerous  references  to  this  part  of  the  Bible.  To 
this  consideration  we  may  add  others.  That  Moses 
was  instructed  to  write  a  book,  and  that  he  did  ac- 
cordingly write  one,  is  made  known  in  the  book  itself 
See  Ex.  xvii.  14  ;  xxiv.  4,  7  ;  xxxiv.  27  ;  Num.  xxxiii. 
2 ;  Deut.  xxviii.  61 ;  xxix.  21,  27,  dtc.  Besides  this, 
the  minuteness  and  particularity  with  which  the  events 
of  his  day  are  described,  indicate  clearly  that  the  re- 
cord was  made  at  the  time,  and  by  one  who  was  inti- 
mately acquainted  with  the  transactions  he  describes; 
and  this  can  be  affirmed  of  no  one  so  well  as  of 
Moses. 

13.  That  Moses  did  not  write  every  word  contam- 
ed  in  the  book,  (the  account  of  his  own  death,  for  ex- 
ample,) may  be  conceded  with  no  detriment  to  our 
argument.  Nor  do  we  insist  on  his  being  the  author 
of  the  book,  with  a  view  of  maintaining  its  reliability 
as  a  true  record  on  that  ground ;  but  simply  because 
the  evidence,  so  far  as  ascertained  and  understood, 
leads  to  this  conclusion.  The  truth  of  the  record, 
depends,  aside  from  its  author,  on  certain  considera- 
tions which  we  will  give  in  their  proper  place. 


16  INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  IV.  —  Composition  of  the  Book. 

14.  Assuming  that  Moses  is  the  author  of  the  book 
of  Genesis,  we  may  ask  in  what  way  he  came  by  a 
knowledge  of  the  facts  contained  in  the  book,  as  the 
latest  of  these  facts  occurred  several  hundred  years 
before  his  day.  We  know  of  but  two  answers  to  this 
question,  one  of  which  only  can  be  true.  Either  the 
facts  were  given  him  by  divine  inspiration,  or  he  ob- 
tained them  from  pre-existing  records.  We  adopt  the 
latter  theory.  Moses  nowhere  tells  us  how  he  came 
by  the  records  he  gives  us,  which  he  would  not  have 
omitted  to  do  if  he  had  received  them  directly  from 
God.  In  other  instances  he  says  that  ^'  the  Lord 
spake"  to  him;  but  he  never  makes  this  statement  in 
regard  to  the  facts  recorded  in  Genesis.  We  con- 
clude then,  that  there  were  in  existence,  at  that  time, 
some  writings  in  which  these  things  were  made 
known,  and  that  from  these  Moses  made  up  his  book. 
Of  course  he  did  not  need  to  make  any  direct  state- 
ment as  to  the  source  of  his  information,  since  that 
was  a  matter  well  understood  by  the  people. 

15.  Besides,  there  is  an  intrinsic  propriety  in  this 
view  of  the  subject.  The  same  reasons  for  making 
known  these  things  to  Moses,  may  be  urged  in  favor 
of  their  having  been  made  known  before.  It  was 
quite  as  necessary  that  Abraham  should  be  informed 
of  what  had  occurred  previous  to  his  time,  as  that 
Moses  should  be.  And  if  Abraham,  w^hy  not  Noah? 
And  if  Noah,  why  not  Adam? 

Evidently  all  these,  and  all  the  people  between 
Adam  and  Moses  were  interested  to  know  the  past 
history  of  the  world,  as  much  as  was  Moses  and  those 
who  succeeded  him.  We  can  hardly  suppose,  there- 
fore, that  the  records  of  Genesis  were  unknown  till 
the  time  of  Moses,  and  then,  for  the  first  time,  were 
revealed  to  him. 


INTRODUCTION.  17 

16.  But  if  we  go  back  to  Adam,  it  will  not  be  diffi- 
cult to  see  that  the  events  of  his  time  could  be  known 
to  him  and  transmitted  to  others  without  any  special 
aid  of  inspiration.  The  same  may  be  said  of  Noah. 
What  occurred  in  his  day,  he  could  understand  and 
make  known,  without  any  special  illumination.  So 
could  Abraham;  so  could  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  and  Jo- 
seph. True,  the  art  of  writing  may  not  have  been 
known  in  the  days  of  Adam;  but  tradition  was  quite 
sufficient  to  have  transmitted  the  few  things  that  are 
recorded  of  that  early  age,  and  to  have  preserved 
them  till  the  art  of  writing  could  put  them  into  a 
more  permanent  and  enduring  form. 

17.  When  this  art  was  first  known,  cannot  be  de- 
termined by  any  certain  and  reliable  evidences. — 
Jewish  tradition  refers  it  back  to  a  very  ancient  pe- 
riod, to  the  days  of  Enoch,  or  to  Adam.  A  more  re- 
liable opinion  places  it  in  the  days  of  Abraham;  and 
it  is  certain  that  writing  had  been  known  for  a  con- 
siderable period  before  the  time  of  Moses.  Hence, 
when  first  referred  to  in  the  Bible,  it  is  not  spoken  of 
as  a  new  thing.  See  Ex.  xvii.  14.  That  it  did  not 
exist  in  the  days  of  the  Patriarchs,  has  been  argued 
from  the  use  of  monuments  and  symbols,  as  memen- 
toes of  certain  transactions;  for  it  is  contended  that 
written  memorials  would  have  taken  the  place  of 
these,  if  writing  had  been  known.  I  take  this  argu- 
ment not  to  be  wholly  conclusive,  since  such  monu- 
ments were  in  use  at  a  later  day,  when  the  art  of 
writing  is  known  to  have  existed.  Indeed,  in  most 
cases,  if  not  all,  where  such  monuments  were  em- 
ployed, there  is  reason  to  beheve  that  they  answered 
the  purpose  had  in  view  better  than  any  writing 
could  have  done;  and  if  so,  they  may  have  been 
chosen  on  that  account.  Or,  if  this  fact  be  not  ad- 
mitted, the  scarcity  of  the  knowledge  of  this  art, 
rather  than  its  entire  absence,  is  all  that  we  ought  to 
infer  from  the  circumstance  in  question. 


18  INTRODUCTION. 

18.  The  theory  that  makes  Moses  to  have  made  up 
the  book  of  Genesis  from  former  records,  known  and 
acknowledged  by  the  people,  while  it  is  the  most 
natural  theory,  does,  at  the  same  time,  allow  of  all  the 
inspiration  that  can  be  justly  claimed  for  the  book. 
Adam,  for  example,  could  know  the  fact  of  the  crea- 
tion of  the  world,  more  especially  the  order  observed 
in  the  creative  process,  only  by  divine  inspiration; 
but  having  received  such  a  communication,  he  could 
preserve  it  along  with  the  facts  of  his  own  experi- 
ence, without  any  special  divine  aid.  Noah  could  be 
informed  of  God's  intention  to  drown  the  world,  and 
the  proper  arrangements  to  be  made  in  view  of  such 
a  calamity,  only  by  a  commuication  from  God;  but 
the  communication  once  made,  it  could  be  preserved. 
with  other  events,  and  the  record  handed  down  to 
the  next  generation.  Abraham,  too,  received  divine 
knowledge  in  dreams  and  visions;  but  he  needed  no 
special  aid  to  relate  his  experience  of  this  kind,  and 
to  hand  it  down  with  other  transactions. 

These  remarks  will  show  the  views  we  entertain  of 
the  manner  in  which  the  book  was  brought  into  ex- 
istence, and  the  extent  and  mode  of  its  inspiration. 
But  the  subject  of  Inspiration  belongs  to  another 
place,  and  need  not  be  treated  of  now. 

19.  Again;  in  the  estimation  of  some  theologians 
of  eminence,  there  are  good  reasons  for  believing  that 
the  history  of  the  world  prior  to  the  time  of  Abra- 
ham, and  perhaps  still  later,  was  preserved  in  two 
separate  and  distinct  documents,  which  are  combined 
in  the  record  we  now  have.  We  confess  that  the 
theory  has  some  strong  reasons  in  its  favor,  though 
we  are  not  entirely  satisfied  of  its  truth.  One  of 
these  documents  is  called,  by  these  theologians,  the 
''Elohim  Document,"  because  Elohim,  in  the  original, 
is  the  name  for  God  used  by  its  author;  and  the  oth- 
er, for  a  similar  reason,  is  called  the  "Jehovah  Docu- 
ment. " 


INTRODUCTION.  19 

20.  The  Elohim  Document  commences  with  the 
first  chapter,  and  continues  to  chapter  second,  4th 
verse;  or,  perhaps  to  the  middle  of  that  verse.  It  is 
then  resumed  in  chapter  fifth,  and  continues  through 
that  chapter.  Then  vi.  9-22.  It  next  takes  up  the 
record  at  verse  7th,  of  chapter  seventh,  and  ends 
with  verse  16th,  omitting  the  last  clause.  Then 
chapter  viii.  1-19.  Then  ix.  1-29;  and  finally  xi. 
10-26,  bringing  the  account  down  to  the  time 
of  Abraham.  All  these  passages  are  found  to  con- 
nect themselves  together  as  a  regular  narrative,  be- 
sides the  circumstance  before  named,  that  they  uni- 
formly call  the  Deity  by  the  name  of  God.  (Elohim, 
in  the  original. ) 

Of  course,  what  is  called  the  Jehovah  Document,  is 
found  in  the  places  we  have  omitted,  viz:  ii.  4  to  iv. 
26:  vi.  1-8;  vii.  1-6;  vii.  16-24;  viii.  20-22;  x.  1  to 
xi.  9.  These  do  not  connect  themselves  together 
as  in  the  former  case,  indicating  an  omission,  it  is 
thought,  of  some  words  or  paragraphs  from  this 
document,  when  the  two  were  combined.  The  pas- 
sage in  vi.  1-8,  has  "G-od"  instead  of  ^'Lord,"  (Je- 
hovah) in  three  instances;  but  one  of  these,  (verse 
5th,)  is  a  mistranslation,  while  the  other  two  are 
regarded  as  spurious  readings.  Assuming  the  theo- 
ry of  the  two  documents  to  be  correct,  the  differ- 
ences between  them  would  require  an  explanation. 
We  do  not  see  in  them  the  contradictions  that  are 
claimed  for  them  by  the  advocates  of  the  theory. 

21.  In  the  one  document,  as  we  before  said,  the 
name  of  God  is  Elohim,  while  in  the  other,  it  is  Jeho- 
vah or  Jehovah  Elohim,  the  first  being  translated  God, 
and  the  last,  Lord^  or  Lord  God. 

Both  give  an  account  of  the  creation,  not  indeed 
wholly  alike,  but  not  necessarily  contradictory.  It  is 
better  to  say,  that  one  account,  in  chapter  first,  lays 
down  the  exact  order,  and  marks  each  step  of  the 
progress  by  the  term  "day,''  while  the  other  account. 


20  INTRODUCTION.  ' 

in  chapter  second,  gives  us  the  main  particulars,  but 
with  no  intention  of  giving  us  the  order  in  which  the 
work  was  done  ;  and  with  this  view  the  differences 
need  not  be  regarded  as  contradictions. 

The  Jehovah  Document  gives  us  an  account  of  the 
temptation,  of  Cain  and  Abel,  and  the  genealogy  of 
Cain ;  while  the  other  document  passes  over  these 
things  in  silence  ;  but  this  difference,  though  impor- 
tant, does  not  involve  a  contradiction.  The  omission 
of  the  one  does  not  prove  the  untruth  of  the  other. 

The  Elohim  Document,  in  chapter  5th,  gives  us  the 
genealogy  of  Adam  through  his  son  Seth.  The  other 
does  not  give  us  this  genealogy ;  but  it  has  that  of 
Adam  through  Cain.  Neither  is  there  a  contradiction 
here.     Both  genealogies  may  be  alike  true. 

Each  document  has  a  sufficiently  full  account  of  the 
Deluge  ;  and  both  combined  give  us  many  apparent 
repetitions.  The  main  difference  of  the  two  docu- 
ments, in  respect  to  the  Deluge,  is,  that  one  makes  all 
the  clean  beasts,  as  well  as  the  unclean,  to  have  been 
preserved  by  pairs  ;  the  other  makes  the  clean  beasts 
to  have  been  preserved  by  sevens,  and  the  unclean, 
by  pairs.  And  though  this  looks  like  a  contradiction, 
I  doubt  whether  we  are  authorized  to  call  it  such.  It 
is  certain  that  seven  of  every  kind  of  clean  animals, 
includes  two  of  every  kind  ;  and  the  one  writer,  having 
the  main  purpose  in  his  mind,  which  was  to  preserve 
enough  to  perpetuate  the  race,  mentions  only  the  two  ; 
while  the  other,  more  accurately,  states  the  full  num- 
ber, seven ;  all  over  two,  being  intended,  as  we  have 
suggested  in  another  place,  as  food  during  the  flood. 

The  Elohim  Document  contains  some  specific  in- 
structions to  Noah,  about  the  shedding  of  blood,  the 
bow  in  the  clouds,  c&c. ;  but  the  other  document  does 
not  contradict  these,  though  it  does  not  mention  them. 

So  on  the  otlier  hand,  the  Jehovah  Document  gives 
us  the  genealogies  of  Shem,  Ham  and  Japhet ;  while 
the  other  has  only  that  of  Shem ;  but  it  is  worthy  of 


INTRODUCTION.  21 

note  that  the  genealogy  of  Shem  is  alike,  on  both 
lists,  so  far  as  they  are  intended  to  run  parallel. 

22.  The  above  are  all  the  important  differences, 
between  what  are  thought  to  have  been  at  first  two 
separate  accounts  of  the  creation,  the  deluge  and  other 
ancient  events  ;  and  our  remarks  upon  them  have  been 
offered  on  the  presumption  that  the  theory  is  true. 
But  we  are  not  yet  convinced  of  its  truth  ;  and  will, 
therefore,  give  a  few  reasons  for  our  dissent. 

One  is,  that  those  who  adopt  the  theory,  are  not 
agreed  how  far  to  extend  it.  Some  stop  at  Abraham, 
and  others  find  distinct  portions  of  these  documents 
in  all  the  books  of  Moses  ;  and  some  find  them  m  the 
later  writings.  Again,  God  and  Lord  are  frequently 
interchanged  in  the  various  readings;  and  hence  it 
does  not  certainly  appear  but  that  God  should  be  the 
reading,  in  some  of  the  instances,  where  Lordi^  found 
in  the  Jehovah  Document,  and  Lord  in  the  Elohim 
Document ;  and  if  this  be  supposed,  the  mam  feature, 
by  which  the  two  documents  are  distinguished,  is  done 

away. 

Besides,  the  differences  and  repetitions  may  arise 
from  the  imperfection  of  the  art  of  writing,  in  its  in- 
fancy, and  not  from  the  combination  of  two  documents. 
With  this  view,  what  is  regarded  as  the  second  account 
of  creation,  is,  more  properly,  a  supplement,  by  the 
same  writer,  in  which  some  things  are  added  and  en- 
larged upon,  and  others  repeated  from  the  first  chapter, 
to  show  the  connection  between  them.  The  creation 
of  man,  is  mentioned  in  chapter  first ;  it  is  repeated 
in  chapter  second,  with  some  additions.  So  the  crea- 
tion of  woman.  So  the  creation  of  animals.  The 
several  statements,  that  make  up  the  history  of  the 
deluge,  are  considerably  mixed  up,  and  sundry  rep- 
etitions occur  ;  but  we  detect  here  an  unskilful  hand, 
rather  than  separate  and  contradictory  documents. 
And  were  it  otherwise,  one  of  the  evidences  of  the 
antiquity  and  primitive  origin  of  the  book,  would  be 
wanting. 


22  INTRODUCTION. 

The  difference  between  what  are  called  the  two 
documents,  in  regard  to  the  number  of  clean  beasts, 
preserved  from  the  flood,  admits  of  an  explanation 
quite  as  rational  without  the  theory  as  with  it.  We 
have  already  suggested  the  explanation  ;  but  if  that 
explanation  is  not  accepted,  and  a  contradiction  is 
contended  for,  it  is  quite  as  rational  to  suppose  that 
one  author  should  contradict  himself,  through  some 
inadvertence,  as  that  two  authors  should  contradict 
each  other.  Noah  is  represented  as  going  into  the 
ark,  no  less  than  four  difierent  times,  or  rather  in  four 
different  passages  ;  but  it  will  be  observed  that  each 
additional  statement  combines  some  circumstance  not 
mentioned  before.  The  first  passage  is  a  prediction 
of  the  flood  and  the  preservation  of  Noah  and  his 
family.  The  next  commands  Noah  to  go  into  the  ark. 
The  next  passage  relates  the  actual  entrance  into  the 
ark,  of  Noah  and  his  family.  And  the  last  passage 
connects  this  event,  with  the  precise  time  when  it  oc- 
curred. See  vi.  18-22;  vii.  1-5;  vii.  7-12;  vii. 
13-16.  A  similar  reason  may  be  given  for  other 
repetitions. 

Another  thing  may  be  noticed  in  this  connection. 
The  Hebrew  language  has  but  two  tenses,  the  Past 
and  the  Future  ;  and  the  modes  that  belong  to  other 
languages,  are  but  imperfectly  represented  here.  Rep- 
etitions sometimes  arise  from  these  defects. 

23.  In  connection  with  the  "  Composition  of  the 
Book  of  Genesis,"  we  may  mention  a  feature  of  the 
book  that  seems  to  belong  as  properly  here  as  else- 
where. I  refer  to  some  passages  that  seem  to  have 
been  added  by  a  later  writer  than  the  original  author 
of  the  book.  They  seem  intended  to  explain  some 
circumstance  that  might  not  otherwise  be  understood, 
or  to  connect  some  ancient  practice  with  more 
modern  times. 

24.  The  language  concerning  the  Sabbath,  ii  3,  is 
probably  one  of  those  passages.     It  is  not  necessar}^ 


INTRODUCTION.  23 

in  the  place  where  we  find  it ;  but  is  a  very  natural 
addition  after  the  Sabbath  was  instituted,  as  giving  a 
reason  for  that  institution.  As  it  now  stands,  and 
viewed  as  a  part  of  the  original  account,  it  implies 
that  the  Sabbath  was  instituted  immediately  after  the 
creation  of  the  world,  which  is  hardly  consistent  with 
the  silence  regarding  it  all  through  the  book  of  Gen- 
esis. Had  it  existed  at  first,  some  allusion  to  it  would 
have  been  found  among  the  Patriarchs ;  and  as  no 
such  allusion  is  seen,  we  conclude  that  it  did  not  exist; 
and  that  hence  the  passage  now  under  consideration, 
is  an  addition  as  late  at  least  as  the  time  of  Moses. 

25.  And  the  Canaanite  and  the  Perizzite  dwelt  then 
in  the  land.  xiii.  7.  This  is  regarded  by  some  as  being 
added  after  the  conquest  of  Canaan,  when  the  Canaan- 
ites  and  Perizzites  had  been  driven  out ;  as  if  the 
author  had  said,  "  at  that  time  these  people  were  in 
the  land ;  but  they  have  since  been  expelled."  But 
the  passage  does  not  require  us  to  take  this  view.  It 
was  well  known  by  the  original  author,  that  Canaan 
was  some  time  to  be  the  possession  of  the  seed  ol 
Abraham,  as  this  promise  is  often  referred  to  ;  and  the 
presumption  was,  that  when  this  should  be  accom- 
plished, the  Canaanites  would  not  occupy  that  country. 
As  yet,  however,  the  writer  tells  us,  they  were  in  that 
land. 

26.  All  these  were  Joined  together  in  the  Vale  of  Sid- 
dim,  which  is  the  Salt  Sea,  xiv.  3.  "  Which  is  the  Salt 
Sea"  was  added  by  a  later  hand,  for  the  purpose  of 
informing  the  reader  that  what  was  now  the  Salt  Sea 
had  once  been  the  Yale  of  Siddim,  where  the  battle  of 
the  kings  was  fought. 

27.  The  same  is  the  father  of  the  Moahites,  unto  this 

day 17ie  same  is  the  father  of  the  children  of  Am- 

mon,  unto  this  day.  xix.  37,  38.  These  tribes  were 
numerous  and  powerful,  in  the  time  of  Moses,  and  it 
is  he,  probably,  that  here  refers  to  their  parentage. 

28.  Therefore,  the  name  of  the  city  is  Beersheba,  unto 


24  INTRODUCTIOJj. 

this  day.  xxvi.  33.  The  passage  contains  no  intimation, 
when  it  was  written,  as  the  place  referred  to,  retained 
that  name  for  many  centuries. 

29.  Therefore,  the  children  of  Israel  eat  not  the  sinew 
that  shrank,  which  is  upon  the  hollow  of  the  thigh,  unto 
this  day,  xxxii.  32.  This  is  an  early  gloss,  as  the  custom 
alluded  to,  does  not  seem  to  have  existed,  even  as  late 
as  the  time  of  Moses.  At  least  we  know  of  no  allusion 
to  it. 

30.  And  these  are  the  Icings  that  reigned  over  the  land 
of  Edom,  before  there  reigned  any  king  over  the  children 
of  Israel,  xxxvi.  31.  This  remark  would  not  be  likely 
to  be  made  till  the  time  when  kings  reigned  over 
Israel ;  and  it  must  therefore  be  referred  to  the  time 
of  the  kings. 

31.  And  Joseph  made  it  a  law  over  the  land  of  Egypt, 
unto  this  day,  xlvii.  26.  This  law  probably  existed  in 
Egypt  for  a  long  period  after  the  time  of  Joseph  ;  and 
at  any  period  during  its  existence,  this  gloss  might 
have  been  made. 

SECTION  v.— Inspiration. 

32.  If  the  question  were  here  propounded :  What 
reason  have  we  for  supposing  that  any  of  the  recorded 
statements  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  were  dictated,  in 
any  special  manner,  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  we  should 
insist,  in  the  first  place,  upon  a  strong  antecedent 
probability  that  such  was  the  case.  There  was  a  time 
when  men  began  to  exist  in  the  world.  This  is  a  self 
evident  proposition.  That  man  is  the  product  of  a 
superior  Power  and  Intelligence  is  scarcely  less  self- 
evident. 

And  the  existence  conferred  on  man  at  first,-  must 
have  been  preserved  by  some  special  aid.  No  other 
supposition  is  admissible.  The  aid  we  now  have  from 
our  parents  and  friends,  in  the  infancy  of  life,  was  not 
famished,  and  could  not  be,  from  the  nature  of  the 


INTRODUCTION.  25 

case,  to  our  first  parents.  Something  must  have  been 
supphed  as  a  substitute.  If  they  needed  no  such 
special  aid,  then  it  follows  that  we  have  more  than  we 
need ;  and  if  we  have  no  more  than  we  need,  and 
they  needed  the  same,  then  some  special  means  were 
necessary  to  provide  it.  To  make  such  special  aid 
necessary,  we  need  not  suppose  that  the  first  human 
pair  were  formed  babes.  Let  it  be  admitted  that  they 
were  made  with  full  dimensions,  and  with  the  strength 
of  manhood ;  yet  they  needed  instruction  as  to  the 
use  they  w^ere  to  make  of  their  powers.  They  needed 
some  special  communications  as  to  the  purpose  of 
their  existence,  and  the  modes  of  securing  it.  What 
is  now  furnished  us  by  natural  means,  must  have  been 
furnished  them,  by  means  supernatural  or  special. 
Let  the  needed  knowledge  be  given  them  in  the  form 
of  a  superior  instinct,  or  by  special  impressions  pro- 
duced on  the  brain,  or  by  dreams  and  visions,  or  by 
any  other  means,  the  result  is  the  same ; — It  is  a  rev- 
elation. The  necessity  of  a  revelation,  at  that  time, 
is,  therefore,  an  obvious  and  well  sustained  conclusion. 
How  often  revelations  should  be  made,  and  how  long 
continued  in  the  world,  can  be  judged  of  better  by 
Him  who  made  us,  and  knows  all  our  needs,  than  by 
any  other  being. 

33.  Sundry  theories  have  been  put  forth  concern- 
ing the  inspiration  of  the  Scriptures.  The  two  extreme 
theories  are  the  following  : — One  theory  regards  every 
word  of  the  book  as  immediately  dictated  by  the 
Divine  Spirit,  so  as  to  exclude  all  errors  from  the 
record ;  the  other  finds  in  the  Bible,  no  inspiration 
but  such  as  has  been  common  to  men  in  all  ages  of  the 
world.  It  is  obvious  that  the  truth  lies  somewhere 
between  these  two  extremes ;  but  where  between 
them,  it  may  be  difficult  to  determine. 

34.  The  ground  we  take,  is,  that  inspiration  cannot 
be  affirmed   of  the  language   of  the  Bible.     This   is 

2 


26  INTRODUCTION. 

made  evident  from  the  many  imperfections  of  language 
found  in  the  book.  The  composition  of  its  several 
parts  is  evidently  the  work  of  men  ;  and  of  men,  too, 
in  an  age  of  the  world  when  literature  and  science 
were  far  behind  the  present  age.  Again,  a  difference 
in  style  is  observable  in  the  several  writers ;  and  the 
style  is  found  to  vary,  not  only  with  the  temper  and 
disposition  of  the  writer,  but  with  the  habits  and 
prevailing  intelligence  of  the  age  Avhen  he  wrote. 
These  circumstances  are  not  consistent  with  the  doc- 
trine of  verbal  inspiration. 

35.  Again ;  if  Moses,  for  example,  was  inspired  to 
write  the  five  books  ascribed  to  him,  in  such  a  way 
as  to  secure  the  work  from  all  mistakes,  we  ask  for  a 
reason  for  this,  that  does  not  apply,  Avith  equal  force, 
to  other  things  for  which  no  such  claim  is  put  forth. 
Doubtless  if  he  was  so  inspired,  it  was  to  keep  those 
who  should  read  his  writings,  from  imbibing  errors 
concerning  the  matters  communicated.  Not  conceiv- 
ing any  other  reason  possible,  we  shall  take  this  to  be 
the  one  adopted.  But  would  such  inspiration  secure 
the  object?  These  books  were  soon  to  pass  into 
other  hands,  and  the  inspired  author  could  not  always 
retain  them.  Besides,  if  more  than  one  copy  of  the 
inspired  book  was  to  exist,  the  second  must  be  trans- 
cribed from  the  first,  and  so  on,  indefinitely  ;  and  this 
work  of  transcribing  would  be  attended  by  mistakes, 
unless  the  copyists  were  also  inspired,  which  we 
believe  no  one  has  yet  maintained.  Farther  than  this, 
the  inspired  original  would  not  always  last.  If  it 
were  not  lost  or  destroyed,  it  would  at  length  waste 
away  and  disappear ;  and  then  none  but  imperfect  and 
uninspired  copies  would  remain. 

36.  Again;  no  one  at  the  present  day,  that  ac- 
knowledges the  truth  of  revelation,  doubts  that  the 
Bible  was  intended  for  universal  use.  It  must,  then, 
not  only  be  copied  from  the  first  written  volume,  but 
it  must  be  translated  into  other  languages ;  and  it  is 


INTRODUCTION.  27 

just  as  important  and  necessary,  to  guard  men  from  the 
errors  of  a  bad  translation,  as  those  of  a  faulty  copy. 
If  the  original  intention  was  to  give  men  an  exact 
knowledge  of  divine  things,  and  without  any  alloy  of 
error,  the  means  of  protection,  one  would  suppose, 
should  be  continued,  and  the  translations  and  copies 
both  be  placed  under  the  guidance  of  the  Divine  Spir- 
it; and  as  such  is  not  the  case,  and  no  one  assumes 
that  it  is,  it  occurs  to  us  that  the  design  of  God  has 
been  mistaken  as  to  the  first  record.  We  can  con- 
ceive of  no  reason  why  that  should  be  absolutely  in- 
fallible that  does  not  apply  as  well  to  the  copies  and 
translations  made  from  it. 

37.  There  is  still  another  consideration  that  has 
some  weight  with  us.  Men,  constituted  and  circum- 
stanced as  they  are,  would  not  all  read  and  under- 
stand the  Bible  alike  if  every  copy  in  use  were  infal- 
libly correct;  and  if  they  understood  it  differently, 
some  of  them  must  be  in  error;  and  thus  the  original 
inspiration  would  fail  of  its  purpose.  There  is  but 
one  conceivable  way  to  secure  such  a  purpose,  and 
that  is,  by  an  inspiration  that  shall  not  only  make  the 
first  record  correct,  but  that  shall  secure  the  infallible 
accuracy  of  all  copies  and  translations;  and,  indeed, 
that  shall  give  an  infallible  understanding  to  all  read- 
ers of  the  record.  But  were  it  desirable  to  secure 
the  purpose  here  contemplated,  an  immediate  inspira- 
tion to  every  man,  without  the  record,  would  be  a 
more  natural  and  consistent  method.  It  was  then,  no 
part  of  the  Divine  plan,  to  give  us  a  revelation  that 
should  be  miraculously  protected  from  error. 

38.  The  book  has  been  subjected  to  the  usual  acci- 
dents to  which  other  books  are  exposed,  with  such 
exceptions  only,  (important,  to  be  sure,)  as  would 
arise  from  the  character  of  the  book,  and  the  circum- 
stances of  the  people  and  times  through  which  it  has 
come  down  to  us.  The  book  has  always  been  re- 
garded with  feelings  of  peculiar  sacredness;  and  this 


28  INTRODUCTION. 

has  thrown  around  it  an  additional  protection  over 
other  books;  and  in  this,  as  in  many  other  things, 
even  superstition  has  had  its  beneficial  tendencies. 
There  have  been,  also,  many  sects  and  parties,  all 
claiming  its  authority;  and  this  has  led  to  the  same 
result,  as  no  one  party  could  make  any  alteration  in 
the  book  without  exposure  from  the  rest;  and  if  any 
alteration  occurred,  by  mistake  or  design,  the  great 
number  of  copies  in  the  world  would  aid  the  work  of 
correction.  With  these  exceptions,  and  perhaps  some 
others,  we  say  the  Bible  has  been  subjected  to  the 
common  fortune  of  other  books.  It  was  written  by 
liuman  hands  as  much  as  any  other  work.  By  human 
hands  it  has  been  transcribed  and  printed.  It  has 
been  translated  by  men  of  fallible  understanding.  It 
was  written  on  perishable  materials,  and  like  other 
books,  is  subject  to  decay. 

39.  The  inspiration  of  the  Bible  relates  to  its  prin- 
ciples, ( we  mean  such  as  are  there  expressly  referred 
to  God  as  their  author,)  and  not  to  its  verbal  records; 
and  while  the  latter  are  subject  to  imperfection  and 
decay,  the  former  have  never  been  impaired  by  the 
revolutions  of  the  world,  and  will  remain,  though  the 
world  should  pass  away.  That  the  Bible  contains 
many  divine  communications,  no  one  can  doubt  who 
admits  its  authority  or  truth  in  any  respect.  The 
en'or  that  Christians  have  too  generally  fallen  into, 
( now  being  followed,  as  we  might  expect,  by  the  op- 
posite extreme,) is  to  ascribe  to  the  Bible  what  it  does 
not  claim,  and  thereby  to  weaken  its  evidences  in  the 
view  of  intelligent  and  inquiring  minds. 

40.  As  examples  of  its  divine  communications,  as 
coming  within  the  sphere  of  our  present  investiga- 
tions, we  place  the  creation  of  the  world,  more  espe- 
cially the  order  observed  in  the  creative  process,  so 
exactly  corresponding  with  the  discoveries  of  mod- 
ern science;  for  Ave  cannot  see  how  men  could  have 
learned  these  things  in  the  early  days  of  the  world 


INTRODUCTION.  29 

without  divine  aid;  since,  as  far  back  as  we  can  trace 
the  Bible  reccj-d,  the  most  profound  ignorance  has 
prevailed  among  men  in  regard  to  those  sciences  that 
throw  light  upon  this  subject.  The  coming  deluge, 
and  the  means  of  preservation,  must  have  been  an- 
nounced to  Noah  in  like  manner.  The  moral  princi- 
ples inculcated  in  the  beautiful  allegory  of  Eden, 
could  have  been  made  known  at  first  only  by  a  divine 
revelation,  for  they  are  even  now  but  imperfectly  com- 
prehended by  the  Avisest  of  men.  The  announce- 
ment that  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the 
serpent's  head,  the  sense  of  which  we  cannot  well 
mistake,  contains  a  sentiment  that  could  not  have 
been  known  without  divine  aid.  The  same  remark 
will  apply  to  the  promise  to  Abraham,  that  in  his 
seed  all  the  fxmihes  and  nations  of  the  earth  should 
be  blessed.  That  Jesus  Christ  was  the  seed  of  Abra- 
ham, we  all  know;  and  that  his  religion  is  destined  to 
bless  the  world,  none  can  doubt.  A  promise,  there- 
fore, so  far-reaching,  both  in  respect  to  time  and 
space;  and  one  which,  for  thousands  of  years,  the 
merest  accident  might  have  defeated,  can  have  ema 
nated  from  no  other  source  than  a  divine  Omnis 
cience,  that  could  take  in  the  whole  history  of  the 
world  at  one  view,  and  a  divine  benevolence  to  plan 
its  redemption  and  salvation. 

41.  Let  it  be  added  here,  that  no  age  before  the 
present  one  has  furnished  such  strong  proofs  of  the 
inspiration  of  these  announcements,  though  found  in 
the  oldest  book  in  existence,  as  are  now  presented 
before  us  in  the  condition  of  the  world,  so  plainly  in- 
dicating the  triumph  of  good  over  evil,  and  the  bless- 
ing of  the  race  through  Jesus  Christ.  We  are,  in- 
deed, farther  from  the  time  the  book  was  written,  but 
we  are  nearer  to  the  fulfilment  of  its  announcements, 
and  are,  therefore,  made  more  sure  of  its  truth. 
Hence,  we  add,  that  the  objection  sometimes  urged 
against  the  Bible,  that  its  records,  the  more  ancient 


30  INTRODUCTION. 

ones  especially,  are  so  far  back  in  the  past,  that  we 
are  wholly  uncertain  in  regard  to  their  truth,  here 
meets  with  a  reply  that  cannot  fail  to  be  appreciated. 
Its  most  important  announcements  become  more  ob- 
viously true  with  the  lapse  of  ages. 

42.  There  are  many  less  important  events  that  are 
local  and  circumscribed,  of  which  we  cannot  be  so 
certain,  when  viewed  by  themselves;  but  connected 
as  they  are  witii  more  important  events,  and  resting 
on  the  same  original  basis,  our  belief  of  one,  so  well 
sustained,  makes  us  yield  assent  to  the  others. 

43.  The  mode  by  which  divine  communications 
were  originally  made,  is  a  proper  subject  of  inquiry 
in  this  connection,  for  there  seems  to  be  considerable 
confusion  in  the  minds  of  men  in  regard  to  this  mat- 
ter. Divine  communications  were  obviously  made  to 
our  first  parents,  as  this  was  a  necessity  of  their  con- 
dition; but  in  what  manner  they  were  made,  is  not 
dehncd.  Several  communications  were  made  to  Noah; 
but  Jiow  made,  we  are  not  informed.  So  revelations 
were  made  to  Abraham;  but  in  general,  the  method 
of  making  them  is  left  to  inference.  In  regard  to 
these,  and  all  other  instances,  ( unless  special  reasons 
oppose,) we  feel  safe  in  saying,  that  the  mode  was  the 
same  as  in  other  instances,  where  it  is  definitely  and 
explicitly  stated. 

When  it  is  said,  that  the  word  of  the  Lord  came  to 
Abraham  in  a  vision  ;  and  that  Jacob  saw  the  Lord  in 
a  dream ;  and  that  God  spake  to  Israel  in  the  visions 
of  the  night;  we  feel  safe  in  concluding  that  the 
same  mode  was  adopted  in  other  cases.  —  xv.  1; 
xxviii.   12;  xlvi.  2. 

44.  This  is  rendered  the  more  evident  from  several 
considerations.  One  is,  that  no  other  mode  is  speci- 
fied. Another,  that  the  same  language  and  phrase- 
ology are  found  in  those  passages  where  the  mode  is 
not  stated;  as  in  those  where  it  is.     Add  to  these  cir- 


INTRODUCTION.  31 

cumstances,  that  the  language  following  some  of 
these  revelations,  shows  them  to  have  been  in  the 
night,  and  the  inference  is,  that  they  occurred  in  a 
dream  or  a  vision.  As  examples  ;  immediately  after 
the  communication  to  Abraham,  recorded  in  xxi.  12, 
13,  it  is  added,  ^^  and  Abraham  rose  top  early  in  the 
mo}'ning,^^  &c.  When  Abraham  was  instructed  to  take 
his  son  Isaac,  and  offer  him  upon  a  certain  mountain, 
it  is  not  said  that  this  instruction  was  given  him  in  a 
dream  or  vision ;  but  when  it  is  added,  that  "  Abra- 
ham rose  up  early  in  the  morning^^^  and  proceeded  to 
execute  the  divine  mandate,  the  conclusion  seems 
plain,  that  the  revelation  had  been  made  in  the  night, 
and  by  natural  inference,  that  it  was  made  in  a  dream, 
xxii.  3. 

When,  therefore,  God  spake  to  Adam,  to  Cain,  or 
to  Noah,  we  suppose  he  spake  in  the  manner  here 
indicated,  no  other  mode  being  obvious  ;  and  this 
view  we  deem  the  more  reliable,  and  worthy  of 
acceptation,  from  the  fact  that  it  removes  much  of 
the  mist  in  which  this  matter  seems  involved  in  many 
minds,  and  so  far  as  it  has  this  effect,  it  adds  beauty 
and  consistency  to  the  record,  and  brings  it  more 
immediately  within  the  reach  of  human  credibility. 

SECTION  VI.  — Truth  of  the  Book. 

45.  The  truth  of  the  recorded  statements,  found 
in  the  book  of  Genesis,  is  quite  a  different  thing 
from  its  inspiration.  An  inspired  book  would  be,  no 
doubt,  a  true  book;  but  a  book,  not  inspired,  may 
be  true.  I  do  not  suppose  that  any  special  inspira- 
tion guided  the  hand  of  the  writer  of  the  book 
under  consideration,  and  I  trust  the  reasons  already 
given  for  this  opinion  may  be  deemed  satisfactory, 
founded  as  they  are  upon  facts.  Even  the  divine 
messages,  that  Avere  then  given  to  man,  had  to  be 
entrusted  to  human  hands,  and  were  written  down 


32  INTRODUCTION. 

Avitli  other  records  by  the  same  falhble  agency. 
Tliat  the  book  is  substantially  true,  however,  we 
have  no  doubt ;  and  we  come  to  this  conclusion, 
from  considerations,  affecting  its  veracity,  as  we 
would  in  any  otiier  case.  We  cannot  assume  its 
trutli  on  the  previous  assumption  of  its  inspiration. 

46.  That  the  book  is  true,  as  to  its  pretensions  of 
embracing  sundry  divine  communications,  is  proved 
by  the  necessity  before  shown  to  have  existed  at 
tliat  time,  for  such  special  aid. 

Its  truth  is  farther  indicated  by  the  views  it  gives 
us,  in  some  passages,  elsewhere  noticed,  that  seem 
plainly  the  product  of  an  early  age,  and  the  infant 
condition  of  our  race.  We  may  mention  another 
circumstance,  nearly  allied  to  this,  that  goes  to 
sustain  the  same  thing.  Many  events  that  we  are 
accustomed  to  refer  to  secondary  causes,  the  Patri- 
archs refer  directly  to  God.  There  are  two  reasons 
for  this.  One  is,  that  divine  communications,  where- 
in God  appeared  to  them  and  spake  to  them,  would 
make  them  feel  a  nearness  to  him  that  others  would 
not  feel  who  were  not  thus  distinguished.  Another 
is,  that  the  investigations  of  science  and  philosophy 
had  not  yet  disclosed  the  existence  of  secondary 
causes,  as  they  were  understood  afterwards. 

47.  That  its  historical  records  may  be  relied  upon, 
may  be  made  out  from  various  considerations. 
There  is  no  opposing  record.  The  Jews,  who  had 
the  best  means  of  judging  on  this  subject,  all  agree 
in  receiving  the  book  as  a  true  account  of  ancient 
and  prknitive  times.  Another  circumstance,  which 
we  may  regard  as  providential,  if  we  will,  and  an 
illustration  that  temporary  evils  are  overruled  for 
good,  helps  to  sustain  this  argmuent.  Tlie  children 
of  Israel,  at  a  very  early  period,  were  separated  into 
two  parts,  and  have  ever  since  been  hostile  to  each 
other  ;  and  yet,  both  portions  of  the  people  receive 
the   record  we  now  have,  and  about  which   avo   are 


INTRODUCTION.  33 

prosecuting  our  inquiries,  though  tliey  are  not  agreed 
in  regard  to  some  of  the  later  writings.  The  book 
existed,  therefore,  before  the  separation  ;  and  if  we 
make  a  reasonable  allowance  for  the  time  requisite  to 
bring  it  into  general  repute,  upon  the  claims  it  sets 
up,  we  shall  be  compelled  to  refer  it  to  the  age  of 
Moses,  and  concede  that  there  must  have  been  good 
reasons,  at  that  time,  for  receiving  its  statements  as 
substantially  correct. 

48.  The  truth  of  a  book  is  to  be  judged  of  in  two 
ways.     One  is,  by  means  of  external  evidences  in  its 
favor,  and  the  other  is  by  the  indications  of  truth  in 
the    book   itself     Most   books,    with    which    we   are 
acquainted,   may  be    proved  or  disproved  by  other 
cotemporary  documents.      Other   external  marks    of 
the  truth  of  a  book  (if  it  be  true,)  may  exist  in   co- 
temporary  monuments  and    institutions.     As   to  the 
record  now  under  consideration,  it  so   occurs,   that 
this  kind  of  evidence  is  mostly  denied  us.     There  is 
no  other  book  so  ancient.     There  is  no  cotemporarv 
writing  that  can  corroborate  its  declarations.     Uncer- 
tain tradition  is   all  that  can  be  urged,  as  coming  the 
nearest   to    evidence    of  this    kind.     And  few  mon- 
uments can  be  found,  that  can  be  referred  back  to  so 
early  a  period.     So  for  as  these  traditions  and  mon- 
uments bear  upon  the  subject,  they  favor  the  record  ; 
and  in  respect  to  a  few  things,  they  are  exceedingly 
nnportant  and  convincing.     It  is  hardly  to  be  doubted, 
for  example,  that  the  book  gives  us  a  true  account  of 
the  creation  of  the  world  ;  for  all  the  discoveries  of 
modern    science,    confirm    its    truth    by    monuments 
found  m  the  depths  of  the  earth,  that  are  every  year 
becoming  more  convincing.     The  fact  of  a  deluge,  is 
m  harmony  with  all  the  phenomena  of  the  past  and 
present,  that  can   affect  this   question  ;  and  the   tra- 
ditions   of    all   nations   furnish   most    extraordinary 
confirmation. 


34  INTRODUCTION. 

49.  The  intrinsic  probabilities  of  the  truth  of  the 
record,  and  the  harmony  of  its  several  statements, 
furnish  the  best  evidence,  perhaps,  that  can  be  urged 
in  its  favor ;  and  indeed,  this  kind  of  evidence  is 
generally  most  convincing,  witli  regard  to  any  book, 
whether  ancient  or  modern  ;  nor  does  the  distance  of 
time  destroy  or  materially  weaken  it. 

50.  Several  particulars  may  be  designated  as  afford- 
ing internal  evidence  of  the  truth  of  the  Mosaic 
records,  in  the  book  now  under  consideration.  One 
is,  that  the  degree  of  intelligence,  the  book  shows  to 
have  existed  at  that  time,  is  precisely  what  might  be 
expected,  under  the  circumstances.  The  world,  like 
the  individual,  has  its  childhood  and  youth,  its  matur- 
ity and  old  age.  We  know  from  the  past,  what  is  the 
rate  of  its  progress  or  growth.  When  Ave  look  at  its 
youth,  we  know  what  must  have  been  its  childhood 
or  infancy.  And  though  this  is  a  subject  about 
which  we  may  not  claim  to  be  above  mistakes  ;  yet, 
in  our  judgment,  the  record  we  have  in  Genesis,  of 
the  infancy  and  childhood  of  the  race,  is  a  very  exact 
statement  of  what  we  should  suppose  it  ought  to  be, 
in  view  of  what  we  know  of  its  subsequent  condition 
and  progress.  The  language  of  social  life,  the  cus- 
toms that  prevailed,  the  views  of  God  and  his  opera- 
tions there  set  forth,  all  indicate  a  primitive  condition 
of  the  race.  And  Avhen  we  look  at  its  condition  at  a 
subsequent  period,  when  seen  through  the  light  of 
authentic  history,  its  advancement  is  only,  and  pre- 
cisely, what  it  ought  to  be,  from  such  a  beginning, 
and  during  the  space  of  time  that  had  preceded. 

51.  Again,  many  of  the  objections  to  the  book, 
drawn  from  its  internal  character,  are  really  argu- 
ments in  its  favor.  It  is  said  to  contain  unworthy 
conceptions  of  God  and  his  operations.  We  admit  it 
does,  so  far  as  the  author's  language  may  be  under- 
stood as  expressing  his  own  views,  or  employed  in 
accommodation  to  the  prevailing  vicAvs  of  the  peo- 


INTRODUCTION.  35 

pie ;  but  this  is  what  might  be  expected,  and  is 
indeed  a  clear  mark  of  its  antiquity.  But  this  mat- 
ter is  treated  more  at  large,  in  another  place,  to 
which  the  reader  is  referred.     (See  p.  47-49.) 

The  book  is  said  to  contain  many  things  that  are 
immodest.  We  adniit  that  some  things  in  the  book 
would  be  immodest  under  other  circumstances ;  but 
as  the  case  is,  this  feature  is  an  internal  mark  in  its 
favor.  It  shows  that  the  record  belongs  to  a  prim, 
itive  age,  Avhen  the  ideas  of  propriety  and  fitness 
that  now  prevail,  had  not  been  suggested,  at  least, 
had  not  grown  into  their  present  shape  and  form. 

52.  Again;  a  combination  of  circumstances,  each 
in  itself  unimportant,  will  sometimes  furnish  an  argu- 
ment that  amounts  almost  to  a  demonstration.  In 
view  of  this  fact,  let  the  following  circumstances  be 
added  to  the  particulars  already  noticed.  The  early 
inhabitants  of  the  globe  lived,  in  what  we  would  noAV 
call  a  prairie  country.  We  find  them  at  the  very 
first,  with  their  flocks  and  herds ;  and  we  continue  to 
see  notices  of  this  kind,  all  through  the  book  ;  nor  is 
there  any  intimation  that  the  ground  had  to  be 
cleared  of  its  forests  before  this  branch  of  labor 
could  be  pursued.  There  are  many  people  in  the 
world  by  whom  this  circumstance  would  be  under- 
stood as  an  internal  mark  of  its  untruth.  There  was 
a  time,  when  to  us,  had  it  attracted  our  attention,  it 
would  have  occasioned  not  a  little  embarrassment. 
But  now,  knowing  that  prairie  lands  form  a  consider- 
able portion  of  the  earth's  surface,  I  can  easily 
beheve  that  the  part  of  the  earth,  where  the  Bible 
places  the  origin  of  the  race,  was  of  this  kind ;  and  I 
can  farther  see  great  propriety  in  selecting  such  a 
location  for  such  a  purpose.  The  references  in  Gen- 
esis to  the  wilderness  and  to  groves,  are  such  only  as 
apply  to  a  prairie  country  where  portions  of  timber 
land  do  now  and  then  occur. 


36  INTRODUCTION. 

53.  There  is  another  species  of  internal  evidence, 
to  which  more  or  less  importance  will  be  attached. 
It  consists  of  what  are  called  ^'  undesigned  coin- 
cidences." In  all  true  writings  there  are  more  or 
less  circumstances  that  are  '^  coincident "  Avith  each 
other,  without  any  apparent  intention  of  the  author 
that  they  should  be  so  ;  and  it  is  this  last  circum- 
stance, that  gives  them  their  importance.  What  is 
here  intended  will  be  best  understood  by  a  few 
examples.  It  is  common  with  us  to  name  persons 
after  others  among  our  acquaintances  or  relations  ; 
and  we  find  the  same  practice  to  have  prevailed,  to 
some  extent,  in  ancient  times.  Hence,  in  the  two 
genealogies  of  Adam,  one  through  Cain,  and  the 
other  through  Seth,  we  find  some  similar  names. 
Enoch  and  Lamech  occur  in  both  ;  and  some  of  the 
other  names  are  so  nearly  alike,  that  they  may  have 
been  originally  the  same  ;  and  indeed  are  regarded 
as  the  same  in  the  Septuagint  or  Greek  version.  A 
fictitious  writing  might  have  the  coincidence  here 
referred  to  ;  but  it  would  be  quite  as  likely  not  to 
have  it. 

54.  But  there  are  other  examples  more  to  the 
point.  In  the  genealogy  of  Ham,  we  find  the  names 
of  Sheba  and  Dedan.  They  were  Ham's  great-grand- 
children. So  in  the  genealogy  of  Shem,  we  find  a 
Sheba ;  and  in  the  family  of  Abraham  by  Keturah, 
we  find  a  Sheba  and  Dedan.  That  the  writer 
intended  these  coincidences,  we  have  no  reason  for 
supposing.  Notice  also  that  the  father  of  the  last 
Slieba  and  Dedan  was  one  Jokshan  ;  and  the  flxthcr 
of  Sheba,  in  the  lineage  of  Shem,  was  also  Jokshan. 
One  Avould  be  inclined  to  think  that  the  latest  Jok- 
shan, named  his  son  Sheba,  because  another  Jok- 
shan had  done  the  same ;  but  at  length,  having 
another  son,  he  names  him  Dedan,  remembering  that 
the  same  combination  of  names  (Sheba  and  Dedan) 
was   found  among  Ham's  descendants.      What   was 


INTRODUCTION.  37 

more  natural  than  tliis^  allowing  the  record  to  be 
true;  though  we  should  not  expect  to  find  such  a 
circumstance  in  a  false  or  fictitious  one.  Many  other 
similar  examples  could  be  produced;  and  they  are 
the  more  remarkable  as  we  know  that  the  Hebrews 
generally  named  their  children  on  a  different  prin- 
ciple, forming  the  name  from  some  circumstance 
occurring  at  the  birth  of  the  child. 

55.  Nearly  allied  to  the  foregoing,  is  the  practice 
of  naming  places  from  persons.  The  writer  does  not 
tell  us  how  Haran,  the  first  residence  of  Abraham, 
after  leaving  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  came  by  its  name  ; 
but  as  Abraham  had  recently  lost  a  brother  Haran,  it 
was  quite  natural  that  the  place  should  be  named 
from  him.  So  Mamre,  the  residence  of  Abraham  in 
Canaan,  was  obviously  named  from  Mamre,  one  of 
Abraham's  confederates;  though  the  name  of  the 
place  and  of  the  person,  are  never  mentioned  in  such 
connection,  as  to  make  the  coincidence  obvious, 
except  to  the  careful  reader.  Sidon  was  the  oldest 
son  of  Canaan,  and  is  mentioned  in  the  Kst  of  Ham's 
posterity ;  and  in  process  of  time,  with  no  special 
reference  to  his  name,  we  find  an  important  city, 
bearing  the  same  name,  in  the  north-west  corner  of 
Palestine. 

Not  very  unlike  this  is  the  next  instance  to  be 
noticed.  In  one  part  of  the  narrative,  we  read  of 
the  Amalekites,  as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Canaan  ;  in 
anotlier  and  still  later  passage,  we  find  one  Amalek, 
among  the  descendants  of  Esau.  Now  it  hardly 
admits  of  doubt,  that  the  tribe  was  named  from 
the  man,  and  are  indeed  his  descendants.  This  is 
accounted  for,  from  the  fact,  that  in  naming  the 
tribes  of  Canaan,  some  are  spoken  of  by  anticipa- 
tion. There  is  an  apparent  incongruity,  which  an 
impostor  would  have  avoided;  but  there  is  also  a 
coincidence  which  is  an  evidence  of  truth  ;  and  all 
the  more  conclusive,  as  being  joined  with  the  appa- 
rent incongruity. 


38  INTRODUCTION. 

Again ;  one  of  the  grand-sons  of  Nahor,  is  Aram. 
Was  not  Padan-^7T/m,  the  residence  of  Nahor,  named 
after  him  ?  This  Nahor  and  his  family  are  called 
Syrians  ;  but  tlie  original  is  Arameans. 

56.  Again;  we  read  of  Abraham  going  down  to 
Egypt,  in  consequence  of  a  famine  in  the  land  of 
Canaan  ;  and  Avhile  there,  he  received  many  valuable 
presents  from  Pharaoh,  among  which  were  servants 
and  handmaids.  At  a  subsequent  period,  and  writing 
about  a  very  different  subject,  the  author  tells  us  that 
Sarah  had  an  Egyjjtian  handmaid  whose  name  was 
Hagar.  Still  later,  this  Hagar  was  sent  away  from 
her  home,  and  was  found  in  the  way  to  Shur  ;  and  we 
learn  in  another  part  of  the  book  that  Shur  lay  in  the 
direction  of  Egypt.  What  more  natural  than  that 
Hagar  should  seek  her  former  home  in  Egypt,  and 
being  a  female  and  a  slave,  what  more  natural  than 
that  she  should  lose  her  way?  At  a  subsequent 
period,  when  driven  out,  a  second  time,  with  her 
child,  she  is  said  to  have  wandered  in  the  wilderness 
of  Beersheba ;  and  this  place,  too,  we  know  lay  in 
the  same  direction. 

57.  Finally  ;  the  difference  between  Palestine  and 
Egypt,  is  made  obvious  by  scores  of  allusions  and 
circumstances,  entirely  incidental,  and  plainly  having 
no  such  purpose  on  the  part  of  the  writer.  Going 
to  Egypt  from  Canaan,  is  habitually  spoken  of  as 
going  down  to  Egypt ;  and  from  the  latter  place  to 
the  former,  was  going  i^p  to  Canaan.  In  Egypt,  too, 
we  find  a  regular,  established  government,  a  king  and 
his  officers,  a  captain  of  the  guard,  a  chief  butler,  a 
baker,  a  prison  and  gallows.  Here  were  fine  linen 
and  golden  chains,  chariots  and  horsemen  ;  and  here 
the  choicest  productions  of  the  East  found  a  ready 
market.  In  Palestine  these  things  are  not  found ; 
and  it  is  worthy  of  being  added,  that  money,  and 
gold  and  silver  ornaments,  are  not  alluded  to,  until 
after  the  first  journey  to  Egypt.     The  productiveness 


INTRODUCTION.  39 

of  the  country,  even  when  famine  prevailed  else- 
where, is  often  alluded  to,  and  had,  as  we  all  know, 
a  natural  cause.  Such  a  circumstance,  as  seven  years 
of  plenty,  followed  by  seven  years  of  famine,  was,  in 
Egypt,  a  natural  occurrence,  though  we  know  of  no 
other  country  on  the  globe,  of  which  the  same  thing 
could  be  affirmed.  We  say,  then,  in  conclusion  of 
this  particular,  that  Genesis  has  all  the  internal  and 
external  marks  of  truth,  that  can  be  fairly  required 
or  expected  under  the  circumstances. 

SECTION  VII.  — Language  of  the  Book. 

58.  Except  a  few  passages  in  Chaldee,  the  Old  Tes- 
tament was  written  in  the  Hebrew  language,  some 
peculiarities  of  which,  taken  from  the  book  of  Gen- 
esis, may  be  here  noticed. 

1.  Hebrew  idioms  :  — 

59.  («.)  The  name  of  God  is  often  used  for  empha- 
sis. Examples :  ^'  The  earth  was  corrupt  before 
God."  The  earth  was  very  corrupt,  is  the  meaning. 
''  The  men  of  Sodom  were  wicked  sinners,  before  the 
Lord,  exceedingly.''  They  were  exceedingly  corrupt. 
'^  The  garden  of  the  Lord,"  may  refer  to  the  garden 
of  Eden,  and  it  may  not ;  but  the  meaning  is,  a  very 
beautiful  garden.  "  That  I  may  bless  thee,  before 
the  Lord,"  has  simply  this  meaning; — that  I  may 
invoke  upon  thee  the  richest  blessings.  "  With 
great  wrestlings  have  I  wrestled  with  my  sister,"  is, 
in  the  original,  with  the  wrestlings  of  God,  have  I 
wrestled  with  my  sister.  ^^  God's  host,"  may,  accord- 
ing to  the  same  idiom,  mean,  only  a  great  company, 
vi.  11 ;  xiii.  13  ;  xiii.  10  ;    xxvii.  7  ;    xxx.  8  ;  xxxii.  2. 

60.  There  are  other  instances,  but  these  are  suf- 
ficient to  illustrate  the  principle.  Sometimes  there 
may  be  a  doubt  how  such  instances  should  be  trans- 
lated. Hence  the  phrase,  ^^  Spirit  of  God,"  i.  2,  has, 
by  some,  been  thought  to  mean  a  great  icind ;  for 


40  INTRODUCTION. 

the  word  for  "  spirit "  has  sometimes  the  meaning  of 
ivind;  and  '^  wind  of  God/'  would  mean  a  great 
wind,  according  to  the  idiom  we  are  now  iUustrating 
Such  appears  to  have  been  the  understanding  of 
Josephus.  Again  ;  the  translators  have  said  that  the 
*'  terror  of  God "  was  upon  the  cities ;  while  the 
more  rational  idea  is,  that  a  great  terror  was  upon 
the  cities.  The  terror  was  inspired,  not  so  much  by 
God,  as  by  the  sons  of  Jacob,     xxxv.  5. 

61.  (6.)  The  Hebrew  verb  is  often  repeated  for 
the  sake  of  emphasis.  Examples  : — '^  Thou  mayest 
freely  eat,"  is  literally  to  eat,  thou  mayest  eat.  The 
translation  doubtless  gives  the  true  idea.  '^  Thou 
shalt  surely  die,"  is  literally,  to  die,  thou  shalt  die. 
Ye  shall  not  surely  die,  is  a  similar  example.  "  Abra- 
ham shall  surely  become  a  great  and  mighty  nation." 
To  become,  shall  become,  is  literal.  '^  He  wiU  needs 
be  a  judge."  To  judge,  he  will  judge.  In  describing 
the  blessing  of  Abraham,  the  translators  have,  ver}^ 
singularly,  preserved,  or  nearly  so,  the  Hebrew  idiom. 
'^  In  blessing  I  will  bless  thee  ;  and  in  multiplying  I 
will  multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of  heaven."  A 
true  rendering  would  be ;  I  will  greatly  bless  thee, 
and  I  will  greatly  multiply  thy  seed,  d:c.  ii.  IG)  17; 
iii.  4 ;  xviii.  18  ;  xix.  9  ;  xxii.  17. 

Other  examples  of  the  same  idiom  may  be  found 
in  tlie  following  passages  that  need  not  be  quoted, 
xxvi.  13,  28;  xxx.  16;  xxxi.  15;  xxxvii.  8;  xl.  15; 
xhii.  3,7 ;  xliv.  5. 

62.  (c.)  The  Hebrews  used  the  word  son  to  ex- 
press various  relations.  Examples:  —  '^  Noah  was 
six  hundred  years  old ; "  literally,  Noah  was  son  of 
six  hundred  years.  ^'  Abraham  was  seventy  years 
old  ;"  son  of  seventy  years.  ^'  Eight  days  old:"  son 
of  eight  days.  "  A  calf,"  son  of  the  herd.  "  People 
of  the  East,"  sons  of  the  East.  There  is  generally 
no  difficulty  in  translating  or  understanding  such 
instances,  as  the  sense  is  sufficiently  obvious,  vii. 
6  ;  xvii.  1,  12  ;  xviii.  7;  xxix.  1. 


INTRODUCTION.  41 

2.  Hebrew  Modes  and  Temes. 

63.  The  Hebrews  had  but  two  Tenses  to  their 
verbs,  the  Past  and  the  Future,  in  place  of  the  six 
tenses  that  belong  to  our  language.  This  can  be 
regarded  only  as  a  defect ;  and  it  sometimes  embar- 
rasses the  translator.  Of  course  the  connection  and 
circumstances  of  the  passage  are  the  only  resort  to 
determine  the  true  rendering.  A  few  examples  will 
illustrate  this  pecuHarity  and  its  difficulties.  Gen.  i. 
14-19  seems  to  be  an  account  of  the  first  production 
of  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  ;  but  as  there  could  be 
no  day  and  night  without  a  sun,  we  conclude  that  that 
luminary  must  have  existed  on  the  first  day ;  and  we 
are  led  to  ask,  whether  the  translation  may  not  be 
made  to  harmonize  with  this  view.  We  think  it  may, 
in  the  following  manner  : — Verse  16th  should  be  put 
in  brackets  and  read  thus  : —  [And  God  had  made  two 
great  lights,  the  greater  light  to  rule  the  day,  and  the 
lesser  light  to  rule  the  night  —  he  had  made  the  stars 
also.]  All  before  and  after  this,  may  be  read  as  it 
now  is.  We  are  thus  taught,  that,  before  the  fourth 
day,  God  had  made  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  ;  and 
that,  on  the  fourth  day,  he  set  them  in  the  firmament 
of  heaven,  to  give  light  upon  the  earth.  The  same 
change  may  be  made  in  ii.  19.  And  out  of  the 
ground  God  had  formed  every  beast  of  the  field. 
Then  the  passage  may  proceed  as  it  does  in  the  com- 
mon version ;  or,  more  of  it,  perhaps  all  to  verse  24, 
may  be  thrown  into  the  past  in  the  same  manner. 
This  would,  at  least,  obviate  some  difficulties  that 
men  see  in  this,  and  other  similar  passages,  and  save 
them  the  necessity  of  seeking  other  modes  of  inter- 
pretation, less  obvious  and  rational.  In  xii.  1,  the 
rendering  is  correct.  Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto 
Abraham,  Get  thee  out  of  thy  country,  &c.  The 
circumstances  alluded  to,  had  taken  place  on  a  former 
occasion  ;  though,  aside  from  these  circumstances,  it 
would  have  been  equally  correct  to  have  used  the 


42  JXTJIODUCTION. 

expression,  "  the  Lord  said  unto  Abraham."  Tlie  dif- 
ference is  this  :  —  One  translation  makes  God  to  have 
spoken  to  Abraham  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  and  to 
regard  that  as  the  country  of  Abraham,  from  which 
he  was  to  depart.  The  other  makes  the  command  to 
be  given  in  Haran ;  and  the  latter  to  be  the  country 
referred  to,  in  the  expression,  "  thy  country."  There 
is  in  Hebrew  no  difference  in  the  form  of  the  verb 
for  says,  said,  has  said,  had  said.  These  modifications 
must  be  learned  from  the  sense  and  circumstances  of 
the  passage. 

64.  The  modes,  too,  of  verbs,  are  but  imperfectly 
represented  in  the  Hebrew  language.  One  peculiar- 
it}^  only  need  be  noticed.  To  some  of  the  modes  it 
is  customary  to  ascribe  what  is  called  a  ^'  causative  " 
sense.  For  example ;  —  I  will  cause  it  to  rain  upon 
the  earth,  vii.  4 ;  more  literally,  I  will  rain  upon  the 
earth.  The  same  tense  in  the  same  form,  is  so  ren- 
dered in  xix.  24.  The  Lord  rained  upon  Sodom  and 
upon  Gomorrah.  God  made  a  wind  to  pass  over  the 
earth,  viii.  1.  God  passed  a  wind  over  the  earth. 
We  suspect  that  such  instances  of  translating  are 
generally  suggested  by  the  supposed  necessity  of 
making  the  ancients  express  themselves  after  our 
modes,  rather  than  their  own.  On  the  same  principle 
the  translators  might  have  rendered  some  other  pas- 
sages differently  from  what  they  have  done,  and 
thereby  removed  difficulties  that  are  important.  '^  I 
will  remember  my  covenant."  ix.  15.  I  will  cause 
to  remember  my  covenant,  or,  I  will  cause  my  cov- 
enant to  be  remembered,  would  be  equally  sustained 
by  this  usage.  "  I  will  look  upon  it,  that  I  may  re- 
member the  everlasting  covenant."  ix.  16.  I  will 
cause  to  look  upon  it,  and  remember,  or,  I  will  cause 
it  (the  bow)  to  be  looked  upon  and  my  covenant  to 
be  remembel-ed,  may  express  the  true  meaning  of  the 
passage.  Again  ;  would  it  not  be  better  to  say,  that 
God  caused  Abimelech  and  his   wife   to  be   healed, 


INTRODUCTION.  43 

rather  than  to  say  that  God  healed  them.  So  in  the 
next  verse,  God  caused  to  be  ^'  closed,"  some  natural 
cause  bemg  immediate,  as  in  the  other  instance.  Did 
God  take  away  Laban's  cattle  and  give  them  to 
Jacob  ?  xxxi.  9,  or  was  it  done  by  a  device  of  Jacob 
himself?  and,  if  the  last,  which  we  know  to  be  the 
fact,  then  it  was  only  in  a  very  qualified  sense,  that 
God  even  caused  it  to  be  done.  The  Lord  slew  Er 
and  Onan,  sons  of  Judah.  xxxviii.  7,  10.  He  caused 
it  to  be  done,  would  suit  our  ideas  better."^ 

65.  But  in  reference  to  all  these  examples,  it  must 
not  be  forgotten,  as  before  intimated,  that  the  ancients 
had  not  our  ideas,  and  must  not  be  expected  to  ex- 
press themselves  in  the  same  way.  They  had  not 
learned  the  existence  of  intermediate  causes  between 
God  and  the  operations  of  the  world,  as  the  moderns 
have  done  ;  and  the  latter,  we  suspect,  have  some- 
thing to  unlearn  before  they  find  the  true  philosophy. 
There  is  a  more  intimate  connection  between  God 
and  his  works,  than  most  of  our  modern  philosophers 
and  theologians  have  allowed  us  to  beheve ;  and  if 
this  be  so,  the  ancient  usage  may,  after  all,  be  more 
strictly  accurate  than  the  modern. 

3.  Hebreio  Voivels  and  Consonants. 

66.  It  is  generally  conceded  that  the  Hebrew  laur 
guage  had  originally  no  vowels,  and  that  what  are 
used  as  vowels,  at  the  present  day,  in  most  printed 

*  If  the  Hebrew  scholar  should  meet  me  with  the  reply,  that, 
in  the  passage  last  quoted  the  form  of  the  verb  is  not  Hi- 
phil,  to  which  the  causative  sense  is  generally  attached  ;  and  that 
hence  the  causative  form  of  translating  is  not  required  here,  as  m 
the  other  instances  ;  we  would  say  in  return,  that  it  is  not  claimed 
that  Hiphil  always  has  this  sense,  and  that  whenever  this  sense  is 
as  ribed  to  it,  the  nature  of  the  passage  is  urged  in  defence  of 
this  construction.  We  urge  the  same  consideration  in  favor  of 
giving  the  causative  sense  to  other  forms  besides  Hiphil ;  and  if 
the  argument  is  good  in  the  one  case,  we  see  no  reason  why  it 
should  not  be  allowed  in  the  other. 


44  INTRODUCTION. 

editions,  (though  some  are  without  them,)  are  an  in- 
vention since  the  language  ceased  to  be  spoken. 
That  this  opinion  is  correct,  scarcely  admits  of  doubt. 
The  language  consisted  at  first,  and  as  long  as  it  was 
a  living  language,  of  consonants  alone,  the  vowel 
sounds,  without  which  words  cannot  be  pronounced, 
in  any  language,  being  supplied  by  custom  and  con- 
trolled by  popular  usage.  At  first  view,  this  would 
seem  to  involve  an  impossibility  ;  but  a  little  thought 
will  convince  any  one,  that  the  English  language  is 
but  little  better  off.  We  have  vowels,  to  be  sure,  but 
the  sounds  we  are  to  give  to  them,  are  far  from  uni- 
form ;  and  what  sound  is  required  in  each  individual 
case,  must  be  determined  with  us,  as  with  the  He- 
brews, by  popular  usage  ;  and  this  being  so,  there  is 
no  great  difference  between  popular  usage  with  the 
vowels,  and  popular  usage  without  them. 

67.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  when  a  language 
ceases  to  be  spoken,  popular  usage  ceases  to  be  avail- 
able ;  and  the  pronunciation  must  be  guided  by  cer- 
tain marks  placed  upon  the  words  of  the  language  in 
the  books  where  it  is  used.  The  Hebrew  has  such 
marks  ;  and  this  is  the  purpose  for  which  they  were 
invented.  They  serve  to  indicate  the  vowel  sounds, 
accents,  c&c.  They  came  into  use  by  degrees,  and 
the  system  was  completed  several  centuries  after  the 
Christian  era.  That  they  are  not  a  perfect  guide  to 
a  right  pronunciation,  but  only  a  help,  will  readily 
appear;  for  though  each  mark  is  designed  to  have 
but  one  sound,  what  that  one  sound  is,  must  be 
learned  from  Jewish  Rabbis  or  Hebrew  scholars,  who 
are  not  perfectly  agreed.  Hence  after  all,  popular 
usage  determines  the  pronunciation,  and  that  varies 
in  different  countries.  In  some  Hebrew  Bibles  these 
marks  are  omitted,  and  usage  only  is  relied  upon ; 
and  in  those  editions  where  they  are  employed,  if 
they  affect  the  sense  of  a  passage,  as  they  sometimes 
do,  they  are  to  be  regarded  as  of  no  more  authority, 
than  the  opinion  of  their  inventors. 


INTRODUCTION.  45 

SECTION  VIII.  — Style  op  the  Book. 

68.  There  is  one  peculiarity  of  style  in  the  book 
that  deserves  some  attention.  It  relates  to  its  repe- 
titions,  A  number  of  particulars,  recorded  in  chap- 
ter first,  are  repeated  in  chapter  second ;  and  this  is 
one  reason  why,  as  we  have  shown  elsewhere,  some 
have  concluded  that  the  original  account  was  made 
up  of  separate  documents.  So,  in  describing  the 
Deluge,  and  the  arrangements  relating  to  that  event, 
there  are  several  repetitions.  But  in  both  these  in- 
stances the  repetitions  seem  intended  to  connect  the 
event  repeated,  with  others. 

But  i\\Q  reason  here  given  does  not  apply  to  the 
examples  about  to  be  introduced. 

69.  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image ,  after  our  like- 
ness, i.  26.  We  are  not  able  to  discover  any  differ- 
ence in  sense,  between  the  clause,  '^  in  our  image,'^ 
and  the  clause,  ''  after  our  Kkeness ; "  and  we  suspect 
there  is  no  difference  ;  and  that  this  usage  belongs 
alone  to  the  style  of  the  writer.  The  importance  of 
the^  thing  asserted,  may,  in  some  such  cases,  be 
assigned  as  the  reason  of  the  repetition.  Still  this  is 
only  conjecture.  So  God  created  man  in  his  own 
image;  m  the  image  of  God  created  he  him.  i.  27. 
One  part  of  the  verse  evidently  repeats  the  other. 
And  on  the  seventh  day,  God  ended  his  ivork  lohich  he 
had  made;  and  He  rested  (ceased)  on  the  seventh  day 
Jrom  all  his  work  which  he  had  made.  ii.  2.  The  last 
half  of  this  verse  is  precisely  Hke  the  first.  An  in- 
stance occurs  in  xi.  31,  which  would  lead  us  to 
believe  that  the  author  intended  to  amuse  himself  or 
his  readers,  by  a  play  upon  words,  if  other  and  sim- 
ilar instances  did  not  occur  often  enough  to  remove 
^^J'^'^V^^^^-^^on.  The  passage  reads  as  follows:  — 
And  Terah  took  Abram,  his  son ;  and  Lot,  the  son  of 
Haran,  his  son's  son ;  and  Sarah,  his  daughter-in-law, 
his  son  Ahram's  wife  ;  and  they  went  forth  with  them, 


46  INTRODUCTION. 

d^c.  In  a  former  verse  (29)  we  read  of  "  Milcali  the 
daughter  of  Haran,  the  father  of  Milcah,  and  the 
father  of  Iscah."  It  was  not  enough  to  tell  us  that 
Milcah  was  the  daughter  of  Haran,  it  is  added  that 
Haran  was  father  of  Milcah.  It  may  be  added,  that 
all  the  relations  mentioned  in  verse  31,  had  been 
before  described  in  the  connection  ;  and  therefore  we 
see  no  need  of  the  immediate  repetition  of  them.  It 
is  most  rationally  accounted  for,  perhaps,  by  refer- 
ring it  to  a  habit  of  describing  people  by  their  rela- 
tions, a  matter  of  necessity  in  those  days,  w^hen  each 
individual  had  but  one  name  ;  and  the  habit  being 
established,  it  would  lead  to  a  repetition  of  such  rela- 
tions sometimes  when  not  necessary. 

70.  Again ;  "  Esau  is  Edom/'  is  repeated  no  less 
than  four  times  in  one  chapter,  xxxvi.  1,  8,  19,  43. 
That  we  may  live^  and  not  die,  xliii.  8,  is  several  times 
found ;  though  one  clause  implies  the  other,  and 
would  have  been  sufficient,  except  that  the  author 
must  be  permitted  to  express  himself  in  his  own  way. 
The  days  of  the  years  of  my  pilgrimage,  are  a  hundred 
and  thirty  years ;  few  and  evil  have  the  days  of  the 
years  of  my  life  been,  and  have  not  attained  unto  the 
days  of  the  years  of  the  life  of  my  fathers,  in  the  days  of 
their  2^ilgrimage.  xlix.  9.  And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar  in 
the  place  lohere  he  talked  ivith  him,  eveii  a  pillar  of 
stone  ;  and  he  pioured  a  drink  offering  thereon  ;  and  he 
poured  oil  thereon,  xxxv.  14.  I  would  improve  this 
statement  thus  : —  And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar  of  stone 
in  the  place  where  he  talked  with  him,  and  poured  a 
drink  offering  of  oil  thereon. 

71.  Several  allusions  are  made  tothe  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah,  and  in  all  the  instances,  the  circumstance  of 
its  purchase  by  Abram  of  Ephron,  the  Hittite,  and 
its  location  before  Mamre,  &c.,  are  distinctly  and  spe- 
cifically mentioned ;  though  one  would  suppose  that 
a  single  statement  would  have  been  sufficient.  For 
some  reason  we  think  the  writer  intended  to  place 
great  stress  upon  that  transaction. 


INTRODUCTION.  47 

72.  There  is  another  class  of  passages,  that  may  as 
well  be  noticed  here  as  anywhere,  as  belonging  in  a 
certain  sense,  to  the  style  of  the  book,  since  they 
show  the  author's  mode  of  representing  the  divine 
operations.  Such  passages  are  not  to  be  understood 
literally ;  nor  indeed  are  we  authorized  to  say  that 
the  writer  himself  intended  them  as  literal;  —  they 
are  his  mode  of  bringing  before  us  certain  acts  of 
the  Creator. 

AVe  read  in  connection  with  the  creation  of  the 
world,  such  expressions  as  the  following :  — ''  God 
said,  Let  there  be  light."  ^'  God  called  the  hght  day ; 
and  the  darkness  he  called  night."  '^  God  said.  Let 
there  be  a  firmament."  "  God  said,  Let  us  make 
man."  Of  course  no  human  being  could  have  listened 
to  the  divine  voice  on  that  occasion  ;  and  no  human 
being  could  know  what  the  Lord  said,  unless  a  divine 
communication  were  expressly  given  to  convey  this 
information,  for  which  we  see  no  necessity  ;  and  hence 
we  propose  a  different  view  of  these  and  some  other 
passages.  Such  language,  ascribed  to  God,  is  simply 
to  be  referred  to  the  author's  mode  of  represerding  the 
divine  operations,  and  is  to  be  understood  rhetorically 
rather  than  literally.  This  is  evident  from  the  com- 
parison of  two  passages  in  the  first  chapter.  God 
said  to  our  first  parents,  ^^Be  fruitfal  and  multiply 
and  replenish  the  earth."  He  is  represented  as  saying 
the  same  thing  to  the  beasts,  which  can  be  understood 
in  no  other  wav  than  the  one  we  have  suggested,  that 
is  rhetorically."^ i.  28,  22. 

73.  Again  ;  "  And  God  saw  that  the  wickedness 
of  man  was  great  in  the  earth,  and  that  every  imag- 
ination of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart,  was  only  evil 
continually.  And  it  repented  the  Lord  that  he  made 
(had  made)  man  upon  the  earth  ;  and  it  grieved  him 
at  his  heart.  And  the  Lord  said,  I  will  destroy  man 
whom  I  have  created,  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  both 
man  and  beast,  and  the  creeping  thing,  and  the   fowls 


48  INTR0DUCTI02V. 

of  the  air ;  for  it  repenteth  me  that  I  have  made 
them."  vi.  5-7.  Let  the  reader  compare  this  passage 
with  a  direct  communication  from  God  to  Noah, 
and  note  the  differences.  The  communication  is 
this :  — "  And  God  said  unto  Noah,  The  end  of  all 
flesh  is  come  before  me,  for  the  earth  is  filled  with 
violence  through  them ;  and  behold  I  will  destroy 
them  with  the  earth.  .  .  .  And  behold,  T,  even  I,  do 
bring  a  flood  of  waters  upon  the  earth,  to  destroy  all 
flesh,  wherein  is  the  breath  of  life,  from  under  hea- 
ven ;  and  everything  that  is  in  the  earth  shall  die." 
vi.  13,  17.  It  is  true  that  some  of  the  statements  in 
this  passage  are  the  same  as  in  the  other ;  but  it  is 
also  true  that  others  are  very  different.  Here  we 
find  notliing  about  the  total  corruption  of  the  race,  or 
of  the  repentance  and  grief  of  the  Creator.  We  infer 
that  the  passage  that  has  these  expressions  belongs  to 
the  style  of  the  author,  and  is  not  to  be  literally 
understood. 

74.  We  place  the  following  on  the  same  list.  '^  And 
the  Lord  said,  Behold  the  man  has  become  as  one  of 
us."  iii.  22.  It  is  not  stated  that  the  Lord  said  this 
to  anybody,  and  we  conclude  that  the  expression  be- 
longs to  the  author's  rhetoric,  rather  than  his  theol- 
ogy. '^  And  the  Lord  smelled  a  sweet  savor,  and  the 
Lord  said  in  his  heart,  I  will  not  again  any  more, 
curse  the  ground  for  man's  sake,  for  the  imagination 
of  man's  heart  is  evil  from  his  youth ;  neither  will  I 
any  more  smite  every  living  thing  as  I  have  done. 
While  the  earth  remaineth,  seed  time  and  harvest,  and 
cold  and  heat,  and  summer  and  winter,  and  day  and 
night,  shall  not  cease."  viii.  21,  22.  How  did  the 
writer  know  what  the  Lord  said  in  his  heart?  Such 
language  is  so  obviously  to  be  referred  to  the  author's 
stylo,  that  I  can  hardly  suppose  Infidelity  so  obtuse 
as  not  to  perceive  it. 

75.  The  language  concerning  Babel,  ix.  5-8,  is 
another  passage  of  the  same  kind.     "  And  the  Lord 


INTRODUCTION.  49 

came  down  to  see  the  city  and  the  tower  which  the 
children  of  men  builded.  And  the  Lord  said,  Behold 
the  people  is  one,  and  they  have  all  one  language,  and 
this  they  begin  to  do  ;  and  now  nothing  will  be  re- 
strained from  them,  which  they  have  imagined  to  do. 
G-o  to,  let  us  go  down  and  confound  their  language, 
that  they  may  not  understand  one  another's  speech. 
Ho  the  Lord  scattered  them  abroad  from  thence,  upon 
the  face  of  all  the  earth  ;  and  they  left  off  to  build 
the  city."  We  accept  this,  upon  the  statement  of  the 
writer,  so  far  as  it  relates  a  historical  fact ;  but  the 
Lord's  cogitations  and  sayings  in  bringing  the  thing 
about,  we  may  accept  or  substitute  others,  with  equal 
propriety. 

76.  We  would  add,  that,  though  such  passages, 
literally  explained,  contain  unworthy  views  of  the 
Creator,  there  is  really  no  evidence  that  the  author 
himself  intended  them  to  be  literal.  It  is  impossible 
to  describe  the  divine  operations  in  language  that  is 
not  more  or  less  faulty.  This  is  true  now,  with  even 
the  wisest  of  men  ;  and  more  than  this  certainly  could 
not  be  expected  of  the  man  who  wrote  the  first  book 
the  world  ever  saw.  A  moment's  thought,  concern- 
ing our  own  modes  of  expression,  will  convince  any 
one  of  the  difficulty  of  properly  representing  the 
Deity  by  human  langMage.  Our  language  not  only 
fails  to  represent  the  divine  character  and  doings  as 
they  are,  but  it  fails  to  represent  our  ideas  on  these 
subjects.  Our  ideas  of  God  are  far  in  advance  of  our 
language  ;  and  if  this  be  so  now,  more  than  this  ought 
not  to  be  required  in  the  earliest  age  of  the  world. 
That  was  an  infant  state  of  society,  and  its  views  cor- 
responded. Still  it  is  right  to  presume  that  what  is 
true  now,  was  true  then,  that  their  language  was  not 
equal  to  their  ideas. 

Such  passages  as  we  have  been  considering,  are  an 
evidence  of  the  antiquity  of  the  book  where  they 
are  found ;  and  if  any  one  is  disposed  to  insist 
3 


50  INTRODUCTION. 

on  their  grossness,    he  only   adds   strength   to    the 
argument. 

SECTION  IX.  — Various  Keadings. 

77.  Many  good  Christians,  on  hearing  of  the 
"  various  readings  "  of  the  Bible,  have  become  very 
much  alarmed,  lest  Christianity  should  be  thrown 
from  its  foundations  by  this  discovery ;  and  with 
equal  inconsistency.  Infidels  have  sought  to  make 
what  they  seem  to  regard,  as  an  overwhelming  argu- 
ment from  the  same  consideration.  The  copies  of 
the  Bible  show  differences  in  the  readings,  as  might 
be  expected,  and  would  be  expected,  by  all  reason- 
able men  ;  these  copies  having  been,  as  of  necessity 
they  were,  written  by  human  hands,  and  transmitted 
by  fallible  agency  from  generation  to  generation. 
Such  readings  have  been  carefully  collected  from  all 
the  manuscripts  and  copies  known  in  the  world ;  and 
though  they  are  very  numerous,  amounting  to  many 
tliousands ;  yet,  but  few  of  them  possess  any  impor- 
tance, as  affecting  the  sense  of  the  passages.  Much 
the  largest  proportion  of  such  readings,  relate  to  the 
spelling  of  words,  the  position  of  words  in  the  sen- 
tence without  affecting  the  sense,  the  use  of  synony- 
mous words,  or  even  a  dot  or  mark  employed  to  guide 
the  pronunciation. 

78-  Tn  respect  to  the  book  of  Genesis,  (and  indeed 
all  the  five  books  of  Moses,)  no  various  readings  have 
been  collected  and  preserved,  with  one  unimportant 
exception,  but  such  as  relate  to  the  vowel  points,  or 
marks  before  described ;  and  as  these  are  no  part  of 
the  original  language,  and  are  only  intended  to  guide 
the  pronunciation,  the  variations  found  in  them,  can 
have  but  little  bearing  on  the  interpretation  of  the 
book.  Doubtless,  however,  there  have  been  various 
readings  in  the  consonants  as  well  as  vowels,  not 
only  from  the  impossibility  of  avoiding  them ;  but 
the  ancient  translations  make  the  fact  quite  evident. 


INTRODUCTION.  51 

Still  the  same  translations,  from  which  such  various 
readings  are  proved  to  have  existed,  make  us  certain 
that  they  could  not  have  been  such  as  to  materially 
affect  the  sense. 

79.  To  illustrate  the  little  importance  that  should 
be  attached  to  the  various  readings  of  the  Bible,  as 
affecting  the  meaning  of  passages,  we  will  give  the 
various  readings  of  the  first  two  chapters  of  the  Sep- 
tuagint.  This  version  of  the  Bible  dates  back  three 
hundred  years  before  the  Christian  era;  and  of 
course  there  has  been  no  lack  of  time  for  various 
readings  to  accumulate. 

Gen.  i.  4.  In  the  phrase,  "  God  saw  the  light," 
the  spelling  of  the  word  for  "saw"  is  not  alike  in  all 
the  copies. 

i.  7.  Some  copies  subjoin  to  this  verse,  "it  was 
so ; "  while  others  omit  this  phrase. 

i.  11.  The  phrase  "after  its  kind,"  has,  in  some 
copies,  the  additional  expression,  "after  its  likeness." 

i.  14.  "To  rule  over  the  day  and  over  the  night" 
is  added  by  some  and  omitted  by  others. 

i.  22.     The  word  "blessed"  is  differently  spelled. 

i.  25.  In  one  part  of  this  verse,  "their  kind"  has, 
in  some  copies,  "their,"  and  in  some  not. 

i.  28.     "Blessed"  differently  spelled.     So  in  ii.  3. 

ii.  5.     Some  have  Lord  instead  of  God.    So  in  ii.  8. 

ii.  10.  "Garden"  is  in  a  different  case  in  some  co- 
pies from  what  it  is  in  others. 

ii.  11.  "Pison"  is  differently  spelled  as  to  a  single 
letter.     So  the  name  Havilah. 

ii.  13.     The  spelling  of  Gihon  varies. 

ii.  14.     The  original  for  "goeth"  is  slightly  varied. 

ii.  17.  The  word  for  "eat,"  in  the  latter  part  of 
the  verse,  slightly  varies. 

ii.  19.  Some  have  "their  name,"  and  some  have 
"^Ys"  name. 

ii.  21,  22.     Lord  for  God. 

ii.  23.     "She  was  taken  from  ner  husband"  is  the 


52  INTRODUCTION. 

reading  of  some;  and  "she  was  taken  from  man^^  is 
the  reading  of  other  manuscripts;  but  the  use  or 
omission  of  a  single  letter,  makes  all  the  difference. 

ii.  24.  "His  father  and  mother,"  or,  "his  father 
and  his  mother;"  so  "his  wife"  has  a  trifling  variation 
in  different  copies. 

80.  How  these  variations  originated,  is  easy  to  be 
seen.  Different  spelling  would  naturally  occur.  That 
Lord  should  be  used  for  God,  might  also  be  expected. 
The  phrase,  "it  was  so,"  being  several  times  used  in 
the  first  chapter,  it  would  very  easily  be  inserted 
where  it  did  not  belong.  "To  rule  over  the  day  and 
over  the  night"  was  presumed  to  be  required  in  i. 
14,  because  it  was  used  in  a  similar  connection  else- 
where. Similar  reasons  can  be  given  for  other  vari- 
ations. In  all  these  examples  the  sense  of  the  pas- 
sages is  scarcely  varied  in  the  slightest  degree.  Most 
of  the  various  readings  are  of  this  character;  and 
though  some  are  more  important,  they  are  not  such 
as  to  affect  the  general  teachings  of  the  book,  or  to 
lessen  our  confidence  therein,  as  a  true  and  reliable 
record  of  ancient  times,  or  as  a  basis  of  our  theo- 
logical faith. 


CHAPTER  n. 

CRITICISM  ON  IMPORTANT  WORDS. 
Contents :   Elohim,  Bara,  Rhua,  Nephish,  Olim,  Sheol,  Malak. 

There  are  some  words  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  to 
which  more  than  ordinary  importance  should  be  at- 
tached, from  their  relation  to  important  subjects,  or 
from  the  use  that  has  been  made  of  them  to  sustain 
doctrines  that  are  adverse  to  the  general  teachings  of 
the  book.  These  we  propose  to  notice  in  the  present 
chapter. 


INTRODUCTION.  53 

SECTION  I.  —  Elohim,  the  Name  of  God. 

81.  This  name,  in  Hebrew,  is  found  in  the  plural 
number;  and  a  literal  rendering  of  the  first  sentence 
of  the  Bible  would  be,  '^In  the  beginning  Gods  ere- 
ited  the  heavens  and  the  earth. "  What  shall  we  say 
in  regard  to  this  word  in  this  form?  Shall  we  say,  as 
some  Infidels  have  said,  that  the  Hebrew  Scriptures, 
hke  the  Mythology  of  the  Pagans,  recognize  more 
Gods  than  one?  or  shall  we  conclude,  as  some  Chris- 
tian theologians  have  taught,  that  the  reference  is  to 
the  plurality  oi  persons  in  the  Godhead?  or  can  we 
find  an  explanation  less  objectionable  in  the  idiom  of 
the  language?  The  latter  is  what  we  propose  to 
make  out. 

82.  The  evidence  that  Elohim,  though  plural  in 
form,  is  singular  in  sense,  and  denotes  but  one  being, 
when  applied  to  the  Supreme  Divinity,  is  indicated 
by  several  circumstances  worthy  of  note.  In  the 
first  place,  though  the  word  God  is  plural,  it  is  joined 
with  verbs  in  the  singular.  The  only  consistent  ex- 
planation that  can  be  given  of  this  fact,  is,  that 
though  the  form  of  the  word  is  plural,  the  sense  is 
singular;  for  in  Hebrew,  as  in  other  languages,  the 
rule  is  applicable,  that  "  the  verb  must  agree  with  its 
nominative  case  in  number,  tfec." 

^  Again;  other  words  joined  with  Elohim,  and  mean- 
ing the  same  thing,  ("in  apposition  with  it,"  as  gram- 
marians say, )  are  found  in  the  singular  number.  Ex  • 
amples:  "  I  am  God,  the  God  of  thy  fathers."  xlvi.  3. 
The  first  word  for  God,  (El)  is  in  the  singular,  while 
the  last,  ( Elohim )  is  plural ;  and  yet  that  both  words 
are  alike  in  sense,  no  one  can  doubt.  The  same 
term,  (El)  in  the  singular,  occurs  again  ii:  xlvi.  3, 
xxviii.  3,  xvii.  1,  and  is  used  to  denote  the  same  be- 
ing as  the  other  word.  Again;  Elohim  has  the  sin- 
gular pronoun  joined  with  it.  The  following  exam- 
ples are  a  few  of  the  many  that  might  be  adduced 


54  INTRODUCTION. 

under  this  head.  Shall  /  hide  from  Abraham  that 
thing  which  /  do.  /  know  that  thou  didst  this  iu 
the  integrity  of  thy  heart.  By  myself  have  I  sworn, 
/am  the  God  of  Abraham,  /am  the  God  of  Bethel. 
/  will  go  down  with  thee  into  Egypt,  xviii.  17;  xx. 
6;  xxii.  16;  xxvi.  24;  xxxi.  13;  xlvi.  4. 

In  all  these  instances,  the  singular  pronoun  refers 
to  Elohim,  showing  that  the  latter,  as  Avell  as  the  for- 
mer, is  singular  in  sense, 

83.  But  what  shall  we  do  with  a  few  exceptions  to 
the  principles  last  noticed?  They  are  the  following: 
Let  us  make  man  in  our  image,  i.  26.  Behold,  the 
man  is  become  as  one  of  us.  iii.  22.  Let  us  go  down 
and  there  confound  their  language,  xi.  7.  From  the 
general  use  of  the  singular  pronoun  in  connection 
with  the  word  God,  we  would  infer  that  the  three  ex- 
ceptions here  given,  must  have  some  special  reasons 
to  justify  their  use,  aside  from  the  plurality  of  the  sub- 
ject to  which  they  relate.  We  are  certainly  not  to 
take  them  as  indicating  the  rule,  when  they  are  so 
few,  and  a  multitude  of  examples  belong  to  the  other 
side.  They  are  evidently  the  exception.  On  this 
usage  I  would  just  remark,  that  Gods,  and  not  three 
2?ersons  in  the  Godhead,  is  the  subject  of  the  sen- 
tence. There  can  really  be  no  controversy  between 
us  and  Trinitarians,  for  the  Trinity  is  no  way  implied 
in  the  language.  The  only  controversy  that  can  ex- 
ist, is  between  us  and  those  who  would  make  Poly- 
theism a  doctrine  of  the  Bible.  In  the  next  place,  all 
the^e  passages  are  found  on  the  list  of  what  we  have 
denominated  rhetorical  passages,  and  must  be  ex- 
plained accordingly.  It  is  not  a  far-fetched  conclu- 
sion, we  think,  that  the  author  intended  to  bring  be- 
fore us  the  fact  that  God  has  his  attendants,  often  al- 
luded to  in  other  parts  of  the  book,  who  are  ever 
ready  to  execute  his  will,  and  whose  presence  is  here 
recognized.     The  language  does  by  no  means  imply 


INTRODUCTION.  65 

an  equality  among  those  included  in  the  term  "i^.'^ 
The  king  with  his  officers,  or  the  master  with  his  ser- 
vants, may  say,  let  us  do  this  or  that,  without  imply- 
ing an  equality  between  him  and  them. 

84.  If  it  be  replied  that,  ^^Let  us  make  man"  can 
have  no  reference  to  the  angels,  since  we  cannot  sup- 
pose them  capable  of  doing  such  a  work,  we  answer, 
that  they  are  not  said  to  have  done  this  work;  but  it 
is  immediately  added,  that  God  made  man  in  Ms  own 
image.  If,  again,  it  be  said,  that  Adam  and  Eve  were 
encouraged  to  expect  they  would  become  as  Gods, 
knowing  good  and  evil,  and  that  the  declaration  af- 
terwards, -Hhe  man  has  become  as  one  of  us,"  has 
the  same  reference,  and  applies  to  the  Gods,  and  not 
to  his  messengers,  we  would  respond,  by  referring  to 
passages  where  angels,  and  even  men,  are  called 
Gods  in  the  Bible.  See  even  in  Genesis,  xvi.  10,  7, 
9,  11,  13;  xxi.  17;  xxii.  15;  xxiv.  7;  xxxi.  13;  xlviii. 
15,  16,  1.  19. 

85.  Another  particular  ought  to  be  noticed  in  con- 
nection with  the  word  God  in  the  plural  form.  It  is 
this :  How  can  we  know  when  to  give  a  plural  sense 
to  the  term,  since  the  form  does  not  determine  this? 
We  answer,  that  the  context  and  circumstances  of 
the  passage  must  decide  this  question.  Hence,  the 
translators  make  the  serpent  to  say,  ^' Ye  shall  be  as 
Gods, "  iii.  5,  either  because  the  statement  afterwards, 
^'the  man  has  become  as  one  of  us,"  seemed  to  re- 
quire it,  or  because  they  thought  it  more  suitable 
that  the  serpent  should  speak  as  a  Pagan,  than  as  a 
true  believer  in  one  God.  So  in  regard  to  Laban's 
gods;^  they  are  expressly  called  images;  and  hence, 
in  this  case,  it  Avas  obvious  that  Elohim  was  to  be 
understood  in  the  plural,  xxxi.  30;  xxxi.  19,34,  35; 
XXXV.  2. 

86.  In  these  passages  the  translators  have  been 
guided  by  circumstances,  and  have  given  the  true 
rendering.     Why  they  have  not  been  equally  consis- 


56  INTRODUCTION. 

tent  in  some  other  instances,  I  cannot  say.  Why,  for 
instance,  should  they  in  one  breath,  make  Laban  to 
have  his  gods,  and  in  the  next,  make  him  speak  as  if 
he  behoved  in  one  Supreme  divinity  like  the  He- 
brews? See  XXX.  27;  xxxi.  29,  50,  53;  xxiv.  50. 
Why,  too,  did  they  make  the  Philistine  king,  and  the 
king  of  Egypt,  use  the  language  of  the  patriarchs? 
See  xxi.  22,  23;  xxvi.  28;  xli.  38;  xliii.  23.  And  why 
make  Joseph  in  Egypt,  while  personating  the  ruler 
of  that  country,  speak  like  a  Hebrew,  and  not  like  an 
Egyptian?  xliii.  29.  Or  are  we  to  believe  that  the 
Syrians,  the  Philistines,  and  the  Egyptians,  were  true 
Theists,  like  the  Hebrews,  and  not  Polytheists  and 
idolaters?  If  they  were  the  former,  then  the  trans- 
lation is  right;  but  if  the  latter,  as  we  suppose  true, 
then  the  translation  is  wrong. 

87.  We  will  add  one  thing  more  respecting  the  use 
of  Elohim  in  the  plural.  It  is,  that  the  same  usage 
prevails,  to  some  extent,  with  other  words.  The 
word  "heaven"  is  in  the  plural;  (or  as  the  vowel 
points  make  it,  in  the  dual;)  and  so  is  the  word 
''face,''  and  "moimtain,"  and  "life."  So  is  "Lord," 
as  applied  to  Potiphar,  and  to  Pharaoh,  and  to  Jo- 
seph. See  i.  1;  viii.  5;  xxiii.  1;  xxv.  7,  17;  xxxix. 
20;  xl.  1;  xlii.  30,  32,  &c.,  &c.  On  the  other  hand, 
the  singular  is  often  used  for  the  plural.  That  is  the 
case  with  "day,"  "year,"  "man,"  &c.  v.  5;  viii.  5; 
xxxiii.  1.  This  usage,  in  either  case,  seldom  occa- 
sions any  ambiguity,  as  the  connection  generally 
shows  the  sense  intended,  with  sufficient  clearness. 
We  think  the  same  remark  wiU  apply  to  Elohim. 

SECTION  n.  — Bara,  Create. 

88.  The  word  create  has  occasioned  no  little  dis- 
cussion among  theologians,  some  claiming  that  this 
word  means  to  produce  from  nothing,  and  others  re- 
garding the  word  as  meaning  no  more  than  to  make 


INTRODUCTION.  67 

or  form.  It  is  very  certain  that  these  words  ( create, 
make,  form,)  QiYe  used  interchangeably,  and  seem  to 
be  synonymous.  The  following  examples  will  make 
this  obvious: 

Compare  i.  1  with  ii.  2.  In  the  one  it  is  said,  God 
created  the  heavens  and  the  earth;  and  in  the  other, 
that  on  the  seventh  day  God  ended  the  work  which 
he  had  made.  Ch.  ii.  4,  brings  both  words  together 
as  follows :  These  are  the  generations  of  the  heavens 
and  the  earth,  when  they  were  created,  in  the  day 
that  the  Lord  made  the  earth  and  the  heavens.  Com- 
pare i.  21  with  i.  25.  The  first  reads  thus  :  And  God 
created  great  whales,  and  every  living  thing  that 
moveth.  The  last  says  :  God  7nade  the  beasts  of  tlie 
earth,  &c.  Compare,  again,  i.  26  with  i.  21.  And 
God  said,  Let  us  make  man.  So  God  created  man. 
Add  to  this,  ii.  T.  And  the  Lord  formed  man  of  the 
dust  of  the  ground. 

89.  Add  to  the  above  usage,  the  following  fact: 
It  is  said,  God  created  great  whales ;  and  it  is  then 
said,  the  waters  brought  them  forth  ;  a  plain  indication 
that  the  materials  of  which  they  were  composed,  exist- 
ed in  the  waters  prior  to  their  conversion  into  living  and 
moving  forms.  So  God  niade  the  beasts  of  the  earth  ; 
that  is,  the  earth  brought  forth  the  living  creature. 
God  made  man ;  that  is,  he  formed  him  of  the  dust 
of  the  earth.  Create,  then,  does  not  mean  to  2?roduce 
from  nothing,  but  to  produce  from  something  —  to 
form,  or  make,  from  pre-existing  materials. 

It  is  said  that  some  of  the  old  Jewish  Rabbis  found 
evidence  of  the  production  of  the  earth  from  noth- 
ing, in  the  use  of  a  little  Hebrew  word  (  eth, )  that 
precedes  the  word  "  heaven  "  and  the  word  "  earth  '' 
in  the  first  verse  of  the  Bible.  But  as  this  word  is 
used  in  thousands  of  instances  when  no  such  idea 
can  be  conjectured,  the  evidence  is  entirely  unrelia- 
ble. Indeed,  no  respectable  scholar,  at  the  present 
day,  will  venture  his  reputation  on  such  a  pretence. 
3* 


58  INTRODUCTION. 

90.  There  is  one  passage  relating  to  the  creation 
of  the  Avorld,  from  which  a  much  more  reasonable 
argument  has  been  deduced ;  but  we  doubt  not  that  a 
knowledge  of  the  idiom  of  the  language,  would  place 
this  argument,  with  the  rest,  as  equally  unsatisfac- 
tory. It  is  ii.  3.  ^^And  God  blessed  the  seventh 
day,  and  sanctified  it,  because  that  in  it  he  had  rested 
from  all  his  work,  which  God  created  and  made.^^ 
The  meaning  is  thought  to  be,  that  God  first  created 
the  world,  and  then  made  it ;  that  is,  he  produced  the 
materials  from  nothing,  and  then  made  the  world,  or 
formed  it  from  them.  A  more  literal  rendering  of 
the  passage,  is  thought  to  convey  this  idea  still  more 
clearly.  ^'God  created,  to  make"  is  literal.  We  re- 
ply, that  this  language  is  a  Hebrew  idiom,  and  means 
no  more  than  one  of  these  words  alone  would  do. 
The  same  thing,  precisely,  is  expressed  more  than 
once  in  the  immediate  connection,  in  the  use  of  only 
one  of  these  words.  God  ended  his  work  which  he 
had  made.  God  rested  from  all  his  work  which  he 
had  made.  Does  the  next  verse  express  anything 
more  than  this,  when  it  is  said  that  God  rested  from  all 
his  work  which  he  created  to  make?  Evidently  not. 
Let  it  be  noticed  farther,  that  the  same  form  is  used 
with  reference  to  other  things.  The  dove  sent  forth 
by  Noah,  to  see  if  the  waters  were  abated,  '^went 
forth  to  go."  viii.  7.  Abram  ^^went  to  go."  xii.  9. 
Such  is  a  literal  rendering.  Can  any  one  suppose 
that  more  is  meant  than  that  the  dove  went  forth 
from  the  ark,  and  that  Abram  went  from  one  place 
to  the  other?  ^^ Created  to  make,"  is  precisely  hke 
these  examples,  and  means  simply  created,  or  what  is 
the  same  thing,  made. 

SECTION  III.  — Rhua,  NEPmsH. 

91.  The  words  soid  and  spirit  deserve  some  atten- 
tion, under  the  head  of  Criticism.  There  are  two 
Hebrew  words,  Bhua  and  NejMsh,  that  ought  to  be 


INTRODUCTION.  59 

noticed  in  this  place.  One  is  rendered  spirit,  and  the 
other  soul,  though  other  renderings  sometimes  occur, 
as  will  be  seen.  There  is  no  method  of  judging  the 
meaning  of  words,  so  reliable  as  to  ascertain  their 
usage.  Indeed,  this  the  only  reliable  method.  The 
origin  of  words  is  not  to  be  depended  upon;  for 
words  may  have  a  primitive  signification,  quite  differ- 
ent from  their  meaning  afterwards  acquired;  and  if 
we  interpret  their  later  usage  by  their  earlier  and 
primitive  sense,  we  shall  be  led  into  an  error.  Lexi- 
cographers are  not  reliable;  for  if  they  make  up  their 
definitions  from  any  other  source  than  usage,  they 
will  certainly  lead  us  astray;  and  if  this  is  to  them 
the  only  safe  resort,  it  is  so  to  us;  and,  indeed,  this  is 
the  only  way  we  can  test  the  accuracy  of  their  defi- 
nitions. 

92.  We  propose  to  collate  the  passages  Avhere 
these  two  terms  occur,  and  deduce  from  them  their 
significations.  These  passages  may  be  classified  as 
follows : 

1.  Nephish  is  used  with  reference  to  animals.  It  is 
rendered  "creature"  in  the  following  places:  i.  20, 
21,  24;  ii.  19;  ix.  10,  12,  15,  16.  In  i.  30  it  is  joined 
with  another  word,  and  rendered  "life." 

2.  It  is  applied  to  animals  and  men,  and  has  the 
sense  of  natural  life,  and  is  translated  life.  The  flesh 
with  the  life  thereof.  Your  blood  of  your  lives. 
Will  I  require  the  life  of  man.  Escape  for  thy  life. 
Saving  my  life.  My  life  is  preserved.  His  life  is 
bound  up  in  the  lad's  life.  ix.  4,  5;  xix.  17,  19; 
xxxii.  30;  xliv.  30. 

3.  It  is  rendered  soul  in  the  following  places,  where 
life  would  be  equally  correct.  My  soul  shall  live; 
meaning  my  life  shall  be  preserved.  Her  soul  was 
departing,     xii.  13;  xxxv.  18. 

4.  It  is  rendered  soul,  and  denotes  simply  the  per- 
son. Man  became  a  living  soul;  ii.  7,  a  living  person 
or  being,  a  living  creature;  the  same  as  other  living 


60  INTRODUCTION. 

creatures  mentioned  in  the  passages  given  in  No.  1. 
This  passage  contains  no  intimation  of  man's  pre-emi- 
nence over  the  beasts,  as  the  same  term,  precisely,  is 
applied  to  both.  Man's  pre-eminence  is  taught  in  i. 
26,  27,  where  he  is  said  to  be  created  in  the  image  of 
God,  a  thing  not  affirmed  of  any  other  creatures. 
Again;  the  souls  they  had  gotten  in  Haran.  xii.  5. 
That  soul  shall  be  cut  off  from  his  people,  xvii.  \^. 
See  also,  xlvi.  15,  18,  22,  25,  26,  27. 

5.  It  is  rendered  person,  and  means  the  same  as  the 
above.  All  the  persons  of  his  house.  Give  me  the 
persons,     xiv.  21;  xxxvi.  6. 

6.  It  is  rendered  soid,  and  means  the  same  as  7,  or 
some  other  personal  pronoun.  That  my  soul  may 
bless  thee.  That  I  may  bless  thee,  is  the  evident 
meaning.  The  following  may,  perhaps,  be  ranked 
under  this  head.  His  soul  ( he )  clave  unto  Dinah. 
The  soul  of  my  son  (simply  my  son,)longeth  for  your 
daughter,  xxvii.  4;  xxxiv.  3.  See  also,  xxvii.  19,  25, 
31.  The  term  occurs  in  xxxvii.  21,  and  is  not  trans- 
lated; but  an  equivalent  is  employed  in  its  place. 
Let  us  not  kill  him.  Let  us  not  take  his  life.  In 
sense  this  passage  ranks  under  No.  2. 

7.  It  is  once  rendered  mind.  If  it  be  your  mind, 
that  I  should  bury  my  dead,  xxiii.  8.  It  seems  to 
have  the  same  meaning  in  xlii.  21.  When  we  saw 
the  anguish  of  his  soul;  though  this  may,  perhaps, 
rank  under  No.  4,  and  be  rendered  "  when  we  saw  his 
anguish." 

93.  It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  circumstance, 
that  tliough  this  word  is  translated  soul  several  times, 
it  does  in  no  instance,  denote  precisely  what  we  mean 
by  that  term  at  the  present  day.  The  passage  where 
it  is  rendered  mind,  comes  the  nearest  to  this  idea; 
but  the  most  that  can  be  affirmed  of  this  place,  is, 
that  a  single  action  of  the  mind  or  soul  is  intended. 
The  soul,  as  denoting  a  distinct  substance,  and  con- 
stituting a  part  of  man  that  is  separate  from  his  body, 


INTRODUCTION.  61 

and  destined  to  immortality,  is  not  had  in  view.  So  the 
soulofShechem  longed  for  Dinah;  but  the  affections 
only  can  be  had  in  view,  and  no  one  can  suppose  any 
reference  to  our  higher  nature. 

When  it  is  said  of  Kachel,  that  her  soul  departed, 
it  would  suit  our  modern  usage  quite  well  to  suppose 
the  soul,  or  spirit,  to  be  referred  to,  and  that  its  exit 
from  the  body  is  had  in  view;  but  to  give  this  con- 
struction to  the  language,  would  be  opposed  to  all 
the  usage  of  that  age;  w^hile  the  rendering,  '^  her  life 
departed,  "  has  abundant  usage  to  support  it.  When 
it  is  said,  that  the  soul  of  Isaac  blessed  his  sons,  we 
may  put  upon  that  expression  a  construction  anala- 
gous  to  modern  usage,  and  say  that  the  soul  of  the 
patriarch  invoked  a  blessing  on  his  sons ;  but  this 
would  evidently  be  a  forced  construction,  and  con- 
trary to  prevailing  usage  at  that  time.  Isaac  blessed 
his  sons,  is  all  the  idea  contained  in  this  passage. 
His  soul  simply  means  he  or  himself. 

94.  The  other  word  we  propose  to  discuss,  is,  per- 
haps, equally  unsatisfactory,  as  denoting  what  we  call 
the  immortal  part  of  our  nature.  It  is  used  as  fol- 
lows: 

1.  To  denote  the  spirit  of  God.  The  spirit  of  God 
moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters.  My  spirit  shall 
not  always  strive  with  man.  In  whom  the  spirit  of 
God  is.  i.  2;  vi.  3;  xli.  38.  The  meaning  here  can- 
not be  mistaken.  The  spirit  of  God  denotes  God 
himself 

2.  It  is  rendered  ''  breath  "  in  the  following  places, 
and  refers  to  the  breath  of  life  that  belongs  to  all  liv- 
ing creatures.  It  would  not  be  improper  to  translate 
all  such  instances  the  "spirit  of  Hfe,"  or  "living 
spirit ; "  and  it  is  certain  the  Bible  speaks  of  the 
spirit  of  the  beast,  as  Avell  as  of  man.  vi.  17;  vii.  15, 
22. 

3.  It  occurs  in  the  phrase  "  cool  of  the  day, "  iii.  8, 
and  is  rendered  wind  in  viii.  1. 


62  INTRODUCTION. 

4.  The  word  is  used  with  reference  to  men,  and 
seems  to  denote,  and  perhaps  does  denote,  the  human 
soul.  His  spirit  was  troubled.  His  spirit  revived. 
A  grief  of  mind  unto  Isaac,  xli.  8 ;  xlv.  27 ;  xxvi. 
35. 

95.  That  the  same  term  which  denotes  the  human 
soul,  should,  at  the  same  time,  have  the  meaning  of 
"  breath,  ^'  or  "  wind,  "  may  be  regarded  as  a  some- 
what singular  circumstance.  We  suggest,  as  a  reason 
for  this,  that  the  ancients  may  have  supposed  some 
analogy  between  the  two  things;  and  hence,  the  same 
word  came  to  denote  them  both.  But  if  we  can  see 
no  analogy  from  which  we  can  trace  the  different 
meanings  of  this  word,  there  is  still  another  fact  that 
will  help  us  to  understand  this  subject.  There  is,  in 
the  Hebrew  language,  as  there  is  in  every  other  lan- 
guage, and  not  less  in  our  own  than  others,  this  pecu- 
liarity, that  the  same  word  is  used  in  senses  exceed- 
ingly diverse  from  each  other.  The  explanation  is 
this:  that  two  or  more  things  chanced  to  be  called  by 
the  same  name,  though  having  no  necessary  relation 
to  each  other.  A  score  of  instances,  from  the  book 
of  Genesis,  could  be  adduced  to  illustrate  this  pecu- 
liarity. The  word  rendered  "naked"  in  ii.  25,  is  ren- 
dered "subtil"  in  the  very  next  verse;  and  in  both 
places  the  translation  seems  correct,  though  we  can 
see  no  relation  which  the  one  word  has  to  the  other. 
We  think  the  words  are  separate  and  distinct,  as 
much  as  though  composed  of  different  letters. 

The  word  "  repent,"  in  vi.  6,  is  "  comfort "  in  v.  29 ; 
and  we  can  see  no  error  in  the  translation  in  either 
passage,  and  we  conclude  that  what  appears  to  be  the 
same  word,  is  not  the  same.  The  words,  though 
alike  in  form,  are  unlike  iu  sense ;  and  are,  in  fact, 
different  and  distinct  words. 

The  word  "  kneel,"  applied  to  the  kneehng  of  cam- 
els at  the  well,  xxiv.  11,  is  the  same  word  that  is  ren- 
dered "  bless  "  in  many  other  passages  ;  nor  is  it  ne- 


INTRODUCTION.  63 

cessary  to  trace  any  relation  between  the  two  words. 
They  are  probably  not  related.  As  many  different 
persons  are  called  by  the  same  name,  so  are  many 
different  things,  not  from  any  real  or  supposed  resem- 
blance, but  merely  from  accident. 

96.  These  examples  are  sufficient ;  and  they  show 
that  the  different  meanings  of  the  word  "  spirit "  may 
be  accounted  for,  independent  of  any  analogy  be- 
tween the  things  denoted  by  that  term.  At  the  same 
time,  they  set  aside  the  argument  sometimes  used, 
that,  as  "  spirit "  has  the  sense  of  breath,  or  wind, 
and  is,  indeed,  applied  to  beasts  as  well  as  men,  there- 
fore there  is  no  evidence  that  man  has  a  soul  more 
than  other  animals.  We  have  just  shown,  that  "  spir- 
it "  in  the  one  case,  may  have  no  relation  to  "  spirit " 
in  the  other.  The  words  are  really  not  the  same, 
though  alike  in  form ;  and  if  this  be  so,  no  argument 
can  be  drawn  from  their  usage,  that  shall  bring  man 
down  to  the  level  of  the  beast. 

97.  In  conclusion,  I  would  remark,  that  in  some  in- 
stances, the  translators  have  made  the  writer  to  have 
used  the  word  '^  ghost,"  where  there  is  nothing  to 
correspond  with  it  in  the  original.  This  is  true  of  all 
those  instances  where  persons  are  said,  at  their 
death,  to  give  up  the  ghost,  xxv.  8 ;  xxv.  17 ; 
XXXV.  29 :  xlix.  33.  These  passages  speak  of 
the  death  of  Abraham,  Ishmael,  Isaac,  and  Jacob. 
That  these  persons  expired  is  all  that  is  intended  ; 
and  though  they  did  give  up  the  ghost,  as  we  are  ac- 
customed to  speak,  yet  we  ought  not  to  make  the 
writer  use  our  phraseology,  when  he  really  did  no 
such  thing.  The  translation  here  is  calculated  to 
mislead  us. 


64  INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  IV.  — Olim. 

98.  The  word  Olim  is  generally  translated  everlast- 
irig  and  forever.  It  may  be  classed  under  the  fol- 
lowing heads : — 

1.  It  denotes  past  time.  Of  old,  men  of  renown. 
vi.  4. 

2.  Applied  to   the   covenant  with  Noah.     This  is 

the   token    of  the    covenant for  2^^^'2^(^tual 

generations.     That  I  may  remember  the  everlasting 
covenant,     ix.  12,  16. 

3.  Apphed  to  the  covenant  with  Abraham.  An 
everlasting  covenant,     xvii.  7,  13,  19. 

4.  The  possession  of  Canaan.  All  the  land  which 
thou  seest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  for- 
ever. An  everlasting  possession,  xiii.  15  ;  xvii.  8  ; 
xlviii.  4. 

5.  The  striving  of  God's  spirit.  My  spirit  shall  not 
always  strive  with  man.  '  vi.  3. 

6.  Moral  life  of  Adam.     And  live  forever,     iii.  22. 

7.  To  God.     The  everlasting  God.     xxi.  33. 

99.  The  term  here  used  was  employed  to  denote 
time,  and  generally  duration :  but  it  plainly  denotes 
duration  of  various  extent.  The  covenant  with  Noah, 
was  doubtless  to  last  as  long  as  the  world  should 
stand ;  for  the  explanation  given  at  the  time,  makes 
this  obvious.  The  covenant  with  Abraham  was  to 
last  as  long  as  the  Jews  remained  God's  peculiar  peo- 
ple. It  was  to  co-exist  with  the  everlasting  posses- 
sion of  Canaan,  as  both  are  spoken  of  in  the  same 
connection,  and  are  limited  by  the  same  term.  The 
everlasting  God,  is  an  expression  that  gives  to  the 
word  everlasting  its  strongest  significance.  Still,  if 
we  had  no  evidence  of  his  perpetual  being,  but  the 
use  of  this  term,  the  proof  of  his  eternity  would  be 
quite  unsatisfactory.  The  conclusion  to  which  Ave 
come  in  respect  to  this  word,  is,  that  the  duration  de- 


INTRODUCTION.  65 

noted  by  it,  must  be  determined,  not  by  the  word 
itself,  but  by  other  circumstances  connected  with  it; 
and  this  conclusion,  we  suspect,  will  be  rendered  still 
more  certain  by  reference  to  other  parts  of  the  Bible, 
which,  however,  does  not  come  within  our  present 
purpose. 

SECTION  Y.— Sheol. 

100.  The  word  slieol  is  rendered  grave.  I  will  go 
down  into  the  grave  to  my  son,  mourning.  Then 
shall  ye  bring  down  my  gray  hairs  with  sorrow  to  the 
grave.  Thy  servants  shall  bring  down  the  gray  hairs 
of  thy  servant,  our  father,  with  sorrow  to  the  grave, 
xxxvii.  35;  xhi.  38;  xliv.  31. 

We  have  the  authority  of  some  forty-seven  of  the 
wise  men  of  England,  in  the  days  of  King  James,  the 
First,  that  the  word  sheol  here  means  the  grave. 
We  are  disposed  to  agree  with  them;  for  the  usage 
of  the  word,  the  only  rightful  authority,  shows  this 
to  be  a  just  conclusion. 

True,  the  term  occurs  in  this  book  but  few  times, 
and  these  few  instances  do  not  develop  very  many 
circumstances  fitted  to  define  the  meaning  with  pre- 
cision. But  all  that  is  said,  favors  this  interpretation. 
It  is  very  natural  and  proper  to  associate  the  gray 
hairs  of  the  patriarch,  with  the  grave,  or  resting 
place  of  the  dead.  And  it  is  certain  that  the  last  pas- 
sage quoted,  is  spoken  with  the  single  reference  to 
the  patriarch's  death.  With  its  preceding  connection 
it  reads  thus:  Now,  therefore,  when  I  come  to  thy 
servant,  my  father,  and  the  lad  be  not  with  us,  ( see- 
ing that  his  life  is  bound  up  in  the  lad's  life,)  it  shall 
come  to  pass,  when  he  seeth  that  the  lad  is  not  with 
us,  that  he  will  die;  and  thy  servants  shall  bring 
down  the  gray  hairs  of  thy  servant,  our  father,  with 
sorrow  to  the  grave.  Another  circumstance,  show- 
ing that  sheol  has  properly  the  meaning  of  grave,  is, 


60 


INTRODUCTIOX. 


that  it  is  spoken  of  as  helow  us.  Jacob  expected  to 
go  doion  to  the  grave.  His  son  Judah  speaks  in  tlie 
same  way;  he  would  bring  doion  tlie  gray  hairs  of  his 
father  to  the  grave. 

101.  To  tliis  view,  two  objections  have  been  of- 
fered. One  is,  that  Joseph  ( wlien  Jacob  said  lie 
would  go  down  to  sheol,  to  his  son,  mourning,)  was 
supposed  to  be  torn  in  pieces  by  wild  beasts,  and 
could  not  be  regarded  as  properly  in  the  grave.  Ja- 
cob, therefore,  could  not  have  expected  to  go  to  his 
son  in  the  grave,  as  his  son  was  not  there.  We  reply, 
that  the  passage  does  not  necessarily  imply  that  Jo- 
seph was  in  the  grave.  Doubtless  the  patriarch  re- 
garded his  son  as  having  been  "  gathered  to  his  peo- 
ple," or  to  his  fathers,  as  the  phrase  then  was ;  but  he 
knew  he  could  go  to  him  only  through  death;  and 
this  last  is  the  idea,  and  the  only  idea,  he  intended  to 
express.  The  patriarch  expected  to  go  down,  mourn- 
ing, to  the  grave,  and  Iherehy,  to  go  to  his  son  in  the 
spiritual  state. 

102.  There  is  another  objection  against  regarding 
sheol  as  the  grave.  It  is  this :  The  Hebrews  had  an- 
other word  for  grave,  and  did  not  need  sheol  for  this 
purpose.  This  objection  has  no  force.  It  is  very 
common  to  have  more  than  one  name  for  the  same 
thing  in  all  languages.  The  word  ''  sheol,"  and  the 
word  "  keber,"  ( the  other  word  referred  to, )  denote 
substantially  the  same  thing ;  though,  like  synony- 
mous words  in  other  languages,  their  respective  usage 
may  not  be  precisely  alike.  The  difference  between 
them  seems  to  be  mainly,  if  not  entirely,  this :  that 
while  sheol  denotes  the  grave  in  general,  keber  is 
more  commonly  applied  to  some  particular  burial 
place.  As  an  illustration  :  Jacob  expresses  his  expec- 
tation to  go  down  to  the  grave.  When  he  died,  he  did 
go  down  to  the  grave,  as  he  expected.  This  was  sheol. 
Jacob,  however,  was  buried,  by  his  request,  in  the 
cave  at  Hebron.    This  was  keber.    The  burial  place  at 


INTRODUCTION.  6< 

Hebron,  is  always  called  keber;  but  the  grave,  with  a 
general  and  indefinite  reference,  is  denoted  by  sheol. 

103.  There  are  two  interpretations  of  sheol,  differ- 
ing from  the  one  given  in  the  common  version.  One 
is,  that  it  denotes  a  place  of  departed  spirits ;  and  an- 
other, that  it  denotes  a  place  of  future  punishment. 
Certainly  the  last  will  not  be  insisted  on  in  the  in- 
stances now  under  examination  ;  for  that  would  be  to 
consign  Joseph  to  such  a  place,  and  to  represent  the 
venerable  Jacob  as  expecting  the  same  destiny.  That 
a  place  of  spirits  is  had  in  view,  has  quite  as  little  to 
sanction  it.  It  is  not  consistent  to  associate  a  place 
of  spirits  with  gray  hairs,  nor  to  locate  it  beneath  us. 
And  it  is  certain  that  no  such  idea  is  supported  by  its 
usage.  We  read,  indeed,  of  departed  spirits,  ( if  an- 
gels are  such,  as  is  commonly  believed,)  but  their  re- 
sidence is  heaven  above  us,  not  sheol,  beneath.  And 
I  would  respectfully  suggest,  that  if  heaven  is  now, 
or  ever  is  to  be,  a  place  of  spirits,  that  it  may  have 
been  such  in  the  days  of  the  patriarchs. 

The  patriarchs  are  said  to  be  gathered  to  their 
fathers,  or  to  their  people,  xv.  15 ;  xxv.  8,  17 ;  xxxv. 
29;  xlix.  29,  33;  language  which  we  understand  to  im- 
ply a  place  of  departed  spirits,  and  a  re-union  in  the 
other  world ;  but  as  to  the  name  of  that  place,  we  are 
left  to  inference.  That  it  is  heaven,  as  above  sug- 
gested, seems  the  best  sustained,  if,  indeed,  we  may 
not  regard  it  as  a  clearly  revealed  fact.  Of  course, 
what  is  here  said,  relates  only  to  the  teachings  of  the 
book  of  Genesis,  and  not  to  what  we  might  gather 
from  other  parts  of  the  Bible. 

SECTION  VI.  — Malak. 

104.  The  term  malak,  generally  rendered  angel, 
claims  our  attention.  The  term  lefers,  first,  to  spirit- 
ual beings,  and  second,  to  men. 

1.   To  sjoiritual  beings. 

The  ''ajigel  of  the  Lord/'  is  a  phrase  that  occurs 


68  INTRODUCTION. 

four  different  times  in  a  brief  passage  relating  to  Ha- 
gar  in  the  wilderness.  On  another  occasion,  the  an- 
gel of  God  called  to  Hagar  out  of  heaven.  So  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  called  unto  Abraham,  as  he  was 
about  to  slay  his  son.  Isaac  told  his  servant  that 
God  would  send  his  angel  before  him.  Jacob,  in  his 
dream,  saw  the  angels  of  the  Lord.  The  angels  of 
God  met  Jacob.  In  his  blessing  upon  the  sons  of  Jo- 
seph, he  has  this  language:  The  angel  which  re- 
deemed me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads.  xvi.  7,  9,  10, 
11;  xxi.  17;  xxii.  11,  15;  xxiv.  7;(see  verse  40,) 
xxviii.  12;  xxxi.  11;  xxxii.  1;  xlviii.  16. 

105.  That  the  angels  here  referred  to  were  spirit- 
ual beings,  is  certain  from  what  is  said  of  them.  They 
are  called  angels  of  the  Lord.  They  speak  from 
heaven.  They  are  invested  with  great  authority. 
Hence,  the  angel  said  to  Hagar:  I  will  multiply  thy 
seed  exceedingly;  and  it  is  added,  that  she  called  the 
name  of  the  Lord  that  spake  unto  her:  Thou  God 
seest  me.  The  angel  that  appeared  to  her  on  another 
occasion,  uses  a  similar  expression;  "I  will  make  him 
a  great  nation."  xxi.  18.  The  language  of  the  angel 
to  Abraham,  on  Mount  Moriah,  indicates  a  similar  au- 
thority. The  dream  of  Jacob  shows  the  office  of  the 
angels,  and  the  work  they  perform.  That  dream 
speaks  of  a  ladder  reaching  from  earth  to  heaven.  It 
represents  God  as  standing  at  the  top  of  the  ladder, 
and  the  angels  ascending  and  descending  upon  it, 
thus  showing  that  it  is  through  the  mission  of  angels, 
that  his  administration,  having  in  view  the  interests 
of  man,  is  carried  on.  The  angel  that  spake  to  Ja- 
cob on  another  occasion,  assumes  to  say,  I  am  the 
God  of  Bethel,  &c.,  xxxi.  11,  12,  13.  So  the  angel 
that  was  to  bless  the  sons  of  Joseph,  was  plainly  a 
superhuman  being. 

106.  It  has  been  observed,  by  some  interpreters, 
that  the  word  ^' angel"  is  not  so  much  the  name  of  a 
class  of  beings,  as  it  is  the  name  of  an  office.     I  un- 


INTRODUCTION.  69 

derstand  it  to  be  the  name  of  both.  It  is  the  name 
of  an  office,  and  denotes  persons  sent  on  a  mission; 
and  in  this  sense,  it  appHes  as  well  to  men  as  to  supe- 
rior beings,  and  is,  indeed,  applicable  to  inanimate 
objects  that  are  made  the  agents  of  the  Divine  pleas- 
ure. But  it  is  the  name  of  a  class  of  beings,  as  well 
as  the  office  they  fill;  (applied  to  them,  it  may  be,  on 
account  of  their  office, )  and  hence,  they  are  ordinarily 
spoken  of  as  angels,  as  much  as  God  is  spoken  of  as 
God,  or  men  as  men. 

2.  Applied  to  men. 

107.  Jacob  sent  messengers  before  him  to  Esau. 
And  the  messengers  returned  to  Jacob,  xxxii.  3,  6. 
That  human  beings  are  here  meant,  no  one  will  doubt. 
There  is  an  another  instance  of  the  same  usage,  as 
we  understand  the  passage,  about  which  there  will 
not  be  a  perfect  agreement.  We  refer  to  the  angels 
that  came  to  Sodom,  and  were  entertained  by  Lot. 
xix.  1.  Most  persons,  we  suppose,  regard  these  an- 
gels as  spiritual  beings,  having  put  on  the  form  of 
men  for  this  particular  occasion.  But  the  circum- 
stances convince  us  that  the  prevailing  notion  is  in- 
correct. The  translators  probably  believed  them 
spirits,  else  they  would  not  have  rendered  the  word 
angels,  and  in  the  other  case,  mentioned  above,  ren- 
dered it  messengers.  But  it  should  be  observed,  that 
these  persons  are  expressly  called  men;  xix.  10,  12, 
16;  that  they  ate,  and  talked,  and  put  forth  physical 
strength,  like  men;  and  the  usual  characteristics 
given  to  angels,  are  mostly  withheld  from  them.  They 
did  not  come  from  heaven;  they  did  not  speak  from 
heaven.  They  are  not  called  angels  of  the  Lord. 
They  did  not  appear  to  Lot,  as  the  term  is,  in  many 
other  places.  They  came  to  Sodom  at  the  close  of 
the  day,  and  were  entertained  by  the  hospitable  Lot. 
If  they  were  invested  with  miraculous  power,  and 
with  a  foresight  of  the  future,  the  same  is  true  of  the 
prophets,  who  are  quite  distinct  from  angels. 


70  INTRODUCTION. 

108.  We  are  no  less  dispopod  to  dissent  from  the 
common  opinion,  which  makes  angels  of  the  men  that 
came  to  Abraham  as  he  sat  in  his  tent  door,  and  an- 
nounced the  birth  of  Isaac  and  the  overthrow  of 
Sodom,  xviii.  1.  The  persons  here  spoken  of,  as  in 
the  other  passage,  are  called  men;  and  we  are  not  au- 
thorized to  depart  from  the  record. 

The  whole  scene  presented  in  that  passage,  is, 
without  doubt,  a  vision;  and  we  have  treated  it  as 
such  in  another  place;  but  this  circumstance  does  in 
no  way  conflict  with  the  view  we  take.  It  is  quite 
as  fit  that  men  should  be  seen  in  a  vision,  as  that  an- 
gels should  be. 

In  the  light  of  these  remarks,  we  may  understand 
better  than  is  generally  done,  what  is  said  of  the  con- 
flict of  Jacob  with  some  unknown  person,  on  his  re- 
turn from  Padan  Aram.  It  is  said  that  Jacob  was 
left  alone ;  and  there  wrestled  a  man,  with  him  until 
the  breaking  of  the  day.  xxxii.  24.  Observe,  the 
person  who  wrestled  with  Jacob,  is  called  a  man;  but 
the  circumstances  indicate  that  it  was  a  man  seen  in  a 
vision  or  dream. 


CHAPTER  m. 

ARCH-aEOIiOGY. 

Contents  : — ^Birth  and  Birthright ;  Marriage,  Death  and  Burial ; 
Dress  and  Ornaments;  Habitations;  Domestic  Utensils ;  Occupa- 
tions; Food;  Domestic  Animals;  AVild  Animals ;  Patriarchal 
Wealth;  Trade  and  Commerce;  Oaths  and  Contracts;  Wars; 
Government;  Servitude ;  Oriental  Hospitality;  Salutations;  The 
Arts  ;  Weights  and  Measui»es  ;  Religion. 

109.  Archaeology  treats  of  the  customs  and  insti- 
tutions of  the  ancients,  including  their  domestic  and 
social  habits,  occupations,  modes  of  life,  government, 
religion,  &c.     It  is  a  department  of  knowledge  that 


INTRODUCTION.  71 

is  exceedingly  interesting  as  illustrating  the  difference 
between  men  who  lived  in  the  early  age  of  the  world, 
when  the  arts  and  refinements  of  life  were  but  little 
understood,  and  men  of  more  modern  times,  when 
education,  and  all  the  arts  and  institutions  of  civilized 
society  are  carried  to  a  high  degree  of  perfection. 
And  as  there  are  no  people  with  whose  customs  and 
institutions  we  are  at  all  acquainted,  in  the  earliest 
period  of  their  history,  that  date  so  far  back  in  the 
past  as  the  Hebrews ;  so  there  are  no  people  whose 
primitive  cusjtoms  can  excite  a  greater  interest.  Add 
to  this,  that  a  Divine  Revelation  and  a  Divine  Saviour 
are  to  be  traced  back  to  this  people,  and  our  interest 
in  them  will  be  greatly  augmented. 

Besides,  we  ought  not  to  overlook  the  fact,  that  a 
true  interpretation  of  the  Scriptures  is  to  be  arrived 
at  by  a  knowledge  of  the  customs  of  the  ancient  He- 
brews, with  more  certainty,  than  by  any  other  means, 
— a  consideration  that  renders  this  branch  of  knowl- 
edge more  important  than  most  any  other  within  the 
reach  of  human  attainment. 

SECTION  I.  —  Birth  and  Birthright. 

110.  One  thing  will  have  been  observed,  even  by 
the  casual  reader  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  as  well  as 
many  other  parts  of  the  Bible,  namely:  that  what  we 
call  modesty,  at  the  present  day,  and  in  our  country, 
was  little  known  among  the  cotemporaries  of  the  pa- 
triarchs. There  is  very  good  reason  for  this,  though, 
unfortunately,  all  do  not  understand  the  reason;  for 
if  they  did,  they  would  not  bring,  as  an  objection  to 
thp  book,  a  circumstance  that  rightly  appreciated,  is 
an  argument  in  its  favor. 

_  That  the  ancients  were  not  void  of  modesty,  is  in- 
dicated by  several  circumstances,  alluded  to  in  the 
book;  but  it  is  certain  that  the  principle  did  not  show 
itself  after  the  modern  style,  as  we  had  no  right  to 


72  INTRODUCTION. 

expect  that  it  would.  Whether  the}^,  or  we,  should 
claim  the  advantage  in  this  particular,  is  a  question 
we  will  not  take  upon  ourself  to  decide.  I  doubt  not 
that  we  are  quite  as  much  exposed  to  their  criticism, 
as  they  are  to  ours.  This  matter  is  controlled  en- 
tirely by  custom;  and  what  is  perfectly  modest  and 
proper  in  one  community,  is  quite  otherwise  in  an- 
other; nor  can  we  always  account  for  the  difference, 
or  give  a  reason  for  it.  The  same  diversity  exists, 
more  or  less,  at  the  present  time,  among  the  different 
nations  of  the  earth,  and  to  some  extent  among  the 
different  circles  in  the  same  community. 

The  freedom  of  speech,  among  the  ancient  He- 
brews, in  the  matter  of  which  we  are  now  speaking, 
is  one  plain  indication  of  the  antiquity  of  that  people, 
and  of  the  books  where  this  peculiarity  is  show^n. 
The  fact  indicates  a  primitive  state  of  society,  and  is 
one  important  proof  of  the  integrity  and  truthfulness 
of  the  record  in  which  this  characteristic  prevails. 

111.  The  book  of  Genesis  contains  many  passages 
which  prove  that  the  love  of  offspring  w^as  a  predomi- 
nant characteristic  of  that  age.  It  was  one  of  the 
strongest  feelings  cherished  in  those  days,  by  both 
sexes.  How  else  can  we  account  for  Sarah's  giving 
up  to  ihQ  embrace  of  her  husband,  her  Egyptian 
handmaid,  that  she  might  raise  up  children  by  her,  as 
she  could  have  none  of  her  own?  It  is  added,  that 
when  the  handmaid  became  a  mother,  her  mistress 
was  despised  in  her  eyes.  With  what  satisfaction  did 
Leah  offset  her  fruitfulness  against  the  beauty  of  her 
sister.  And  with  what  unfeigned  earnestness  did 
Isaac  pray  that  Rebekah  might  have  a  son.  And 
when  she  left  -her  father's  house  to  become  the  wife 
of  Isaac,  one  clause  in  the  benediction  then  pro- 
nounced upon  her,  was,  that  she  might  be  the  mother 
of  thousands  of  millions. 

Again;  it  was  one  of  the  particulars  embraced  in 
the  promise  to  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob,  that  their 


INTRODUCTION.  73 

seed  should  be  as  the  stars  of  heaven,  for  multitude, 
and  as  the  sands  upon  the  sea  shore,  xvi.  1-4;  xxix. 
31-35;  XXX.  9-13;  xxv.  21;  xxiv.  60. 

If  we  seek  for  a  natural  reason  for  this  feeling,  we 
may  find  it  partly  in  the  condition  of  society  at  that 
time.  The  more  numerous  a  family  or  tribe,  the 
greater  their  personal  security;  as  each  family  was  a 
community  by  itself,  and  had  to  depend  mainly,  for 
its  defence,  on  the  strength  of  its  individual  members. 
Besides,  there  was  a  divine  command  relating  to  this 
subject,  which  they  may  not  have  felt  themselves  at 
liberty  to  disregard,  i.  22.  The  existence  of  a  class 
of  females  called  "  midwives, "  places  the  ancients  be- 
fore us,  in  respect  to  some  of  their  social  institutions, 
to  which  there  seems  to  be  at  present  a  tendency  to 
return.  Retracing  our  steps  is  sometimes  the  way  to 
advance,     xxxviii.  28. 

112.  Great  importance  was,  then,  attached  to  being 
the  first-born.  It  was  through  the  first-born  that  the 
lineage  was  traced,  unless  special  circumstances  re- 
quired a  departure  from  this  rule.  To  the  first-born, 
too,  special  privileges  were  given.  This  was  the  "birth- 
right" which  Esau  sold  for  a  mess  of  pottage.  "Thus 
he  despised  his  birthright."  The  importance  attached 
to  this  subject,  made  particular  caution  necessary  at 
the  birth  of  twins,  that  the  true  first-born  might  not 
be  mistaken.  Hence,  the  scarlet  thread  put  upon  the 
hand  of  Zarah  at  his  birth,  to  distinguish  him  from 
his  twin  brother,  Phares.     xxv.  33,  34;  xxxviii.  28. 

113.  One  circumstance  that  has  some  relation  to 
the  topic  we  are  now  upon,  and  may,  accordingly,  be 
Damed  in  connection  with  it,  is  but  once  mentioned 
In  the  book,  and  then  in  a  very  brief  and  incidental 
manner.  It  is  said  that  Abram  and  Sarah,  when  Isaac 
was  loeaned,  made  a  great  feast;  but  whether  it  was 
common  to  celebrate  that  event  in  this  way  ,  cannot 
be  safely  inferred  from  this  single  reference,     xxi.  8. 

4 


74  INTRODUCTION. 


SECTIOxN  II.  — Marriage. 

114.  The  institution  of  marriage  is  divine;  nor  can 
any  reasonable  construction  be  put  upon  the  passage 
where  tiiis  subject  is  referred  to  for  the  first  time,  but 
such  as  makes  it  prohibit  the  possession  of  more  than 
one  wife.  And  it  is  behoved  that  this  was  the  usual 
understanding  of  that  subject  by  the  patriarchs.  La- 
mech,  one  of  Cain's  posterity,  is  the  first  mentioned 
as  having  disregarded  that  salutary  regulation ;  and 
the  importance  attached  to  this  fact,  making  it  worthy 
special  notice,  shows  plainly  that  it  was  not  a  common 
occurrence,  ii.  18.  iv.  19.  Abraham  had  but  one 
wife ;  so  had  Isaac.  And  though  the  former  had  a 
concubine,  under  peculiar  circumstances  and  at  the 
suggestion  of  his  wife,  that  does  not  seem  to  be  re- 
garded as  a  violation  of  the  marriage  institution. 
Jacob  had  two  wives,  but  that  was  no  fault  of  his,  as 
one  was  put  upon  him  by  fraud ;  and  if  he  had  con- 
cubines, he  had  the  best  reasons  for  this  that  the 
nature  of  the  case  admitted  of;  and  these  seem  to 
have  been  satisfactory.  It  may  be  remarked  here, 
that  if  we  would  understand  the  ancients,  we  must 
not  try  them  by  our  standards.  We  must  not  make 
them  to  have  seen  with  our  eyes,  or  more  properly, 
to  have  seen  with  the  same  light  that  is  shed  upon 
us.  If  revealed  religion  has  not  elevated  us  above 
them,  what  good  has  it  done  us  ? 

115.  Another  thing  will  attract  attention  in  rela- 
tion to  the  marriage  customs  of  the  ancients.  They 
married  their  near  relations ;  nor  did  they  express,  or 
seem  to  feel,  that  there  was  the  least  impropriety  in 
so  doing.  Nahor  married  his  niece.  Abraham  mar- 
ried his  half  sister ;  and  if  we  go  back  to  the  days  of 
Adam,  we  know  that  some  of  Adam's  sons  must  have 
been  joined  in  wedlock  with  their  own  sisters,  as  they 
could,  at  first  have  had  no  others,  nor  with  the  light 
that  then  prevailed,  could  they  discover  any  reason 
against  such  a  union ;  and  indeed,  under  the  circum- 


INTRODUCTION.  75 

Stances,  and  in  the  absence   of  any  divine    prohibi- 
tion, there  was  no  reason  against  it.    xi.  29.  xx.  12. 

116.  And  here  we  may  remark  an  interesting  cir- 
cumstance, showing  a  harmony  in  the  recorded  state- 
ments of  the  book  on  which  our  discussions  are  em- 
ployed. At  first  we  know  that  brothers  must  have 
married  sisters ;  at  least  one  or  more  such  instances 
must  have  occurred.*  This  being  so,  we  the  more 
readily  account  for  a  union  between  near  relations  at 
a  later  day  ;  and  it  may  throw  some  light  on  what 
would  otherwise  seem  incredible  in  the  conduct  of 
the  daughters  of  Lot,  when  they  supposed  all  the  rest 
of  the  world  to  be  destroyed,  and  the  only  hope  of  a 
future  race,  depended  on  themselves.  They  had  no 
divine  command  to  restrain  them.  They  had  the 
union  of  very  near  relations,  as  a  not  uncommon 
practice.  Their  residence  in  Sodom  had  not  im- 
proved their  sensibilities  ;  and  the  mountain  cave 
shut  out  their  crime  from  all  the  rest  ol  the  world, 
even  if  they  did  not  suppose  (as  the  passage  seems 
to  indicate)  that  all  the  rest  of  the  world  were  de- 
stroyed,    xix.  30,  38. 

117.  It  was  not  anciently  necessary  that  the  parties 
who  were  to  be  united  in  marriage  should  be  previ- 
ously acquainted.  Hence  Abraham  sent  his  servant 
to  procure  a  wife  for  Isaac,  whom  he  had  never 
before  seen.  It  will  be  farther  observed  that  tlie  par- 
ties themselves  had  very  little  to  do  in  the  matter. 
The  principal  things  were  attended  to  by  their  pa- 
rents. The  case  of  Abraham,  just  alluded  to,  is  to 
the  point.  So  when  Shechem,  son  of  Hamor,  became 
enamored  of  Dinah,  the  daughter  of  Jacob,  he  imme- 
diately applied  to  his  father,  saying,  ''  Get  m.e  this 
damsel  to  w^ife."  Judah  took  a  wife  for  Er,  his  first 
born.  In  this  particular  there  is  a  remarkable  coinci- 
dence with  the  practice  of  the  Aborigines  of  our  own 
country.  It  may  be  a  matter  of  question  whether 
this  arrangement,  if  it  existed  now,  would  not  be 
quite  as  favorable  to  domestic  happiness,  as  the  one 


76  INTRODUCTION. 

that  prevails  among  us.  It  seems  a  little  inconsist- 
ent, that  the  most  important  transaction  of  life, 
should  ba  put  wholly  into  youthful  and  inexperienced 
hands  — that  the  father  should  allow  his  son  to  select 
a  wife,  when  he  would  not  trust  him  to  buy  a  horse 
or  a  cow.     xxiv.  4  ;  xxxiv.  4  ;  xxxviii.  6. 

118.  Another  interesting  circumstance  connected 
with  ancient  marriages,  is,  that  the  wife  was,  in  some 
sense,  purchased.  Hence  the  presents  given  to  Re- 
bekah  by  Abraham's  servant,  and  the  "  precious 
tilings  "  given  to  her  mother  and  brother ;  and  the 
labor  of  seven  years  exacted  by  Laban  from  Jacob^ 
in  consideration  of  giving  him  his  daughter.  Hence, 
too,  the  offer  of  Shechem  to  give  to  Jacob  any  amount 
he  might  exact  for  his  daughter,  Dinah,  xxiv.  22,  30, 
53;  xxix.  20,  xxxiv.  12. 

119.  Every  wif3  seems  to  have  been  furnished  with  a 
maid  to  go  with  her  and  to  be  her  special  companion 
and  attendant.  Sarah  had  the  maid  Hagir.  Leah 
had  Zilpih,  Richel  had  Bilhah,  Rebekah,  too,  had 
her  "  damsels,"  among  whom  Deborah  is  especially 
named,  xvi.  1;  xxix.  24,  29;  xxiv.  61;  xxxv.  8. 
When  Jacob  was  married,  it  is  said  that  Laban,  his 
father-in-law,  ''  gathered  together  all  the  men  of  the 
place,  and  made  a  feast ;  "  which  shows  that  marriage 
entertainments  are  very  ancient,     xxix.  22. 

120.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Hebrew  patri- 
archs were  exceedingly  desirous  of  avoiding  all  mar- 
riage relations,  outside  of  the  family  or  tribe  to  which 
they  belonged.  Abraham  sent  fir  away  to  procure 
one  of  his  relations  for  Isaac,  and  exacted  an  oath  of 
his  servant  that  he  would  not  obtain  for  him  a  wife 
of  the  d  lughters  of  Canaan.  And  when  Esau  married 
among  the  people  of  the  land,  it  was  a  great  grief  to 
his  pirents.  The  language  of  Rebekah  to  Isaac, 
betrays  the  feeling  that  prevailed  on  this  subject:  — 
'^  I  am  weary  of  my  life  because  of  the  daughters  of 
Heth.  If  Jacob  take  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Heth, 
such  as  these  which  are  the  daughters  of  the  land, 


INTRODUCTION.  77 

what  good  shall  my  life  do  me/'  This  feeling  was  at 
length  expressed  in  the  law  of  the  land.  xxix.  3; 
xxvi.  35  ;  xxviii.  8  ;  xxvii.  46. 

121.  There  must  have  been  something  very  pecu- 
liar in  t'le  marriage  rights  of  those  days,  else  we  shall 
find  it  difficult  to  understand,  why  Jacob  should  not 
have  kno^vn,  at  the  time,  whether  it  was  Leah  or 
Rachel,  that  shared  his  marriage  bed,  the  first  night 
of  his  wedded  life.  That  such  customs  did  exist,  as 
would  involve  this  uncertainty  is  not,  however,  a 
thing  to  be  disbelieved,  so  different  were  their  cus- 
toms from  ours. 

122.  The  reason  of  the  fraud  practiced  by  Laban 
on  that  occasion,  viz.,  ^^  it  must  not  be  so  done  in 
our  country,  to  give  the  younger  before  the  first- 
born," may  be  construed  as  a  mere  pretence,  or  it 
may  be  understood  as  indicating  the  usual  custom. 
But  if  the  last,  we  need  not  extend  the  custom 
beyond  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Laban,  who,  it  is 
well  known,  resided  far  away  from  Canaan,  the  land 
of  the  Hebrews,     xxix.  26. 

123.  The  language  of  Laban  to  Jacob:  —  ^'Fulfil 
her  week,  and  we  will  give  thee  this  also,  for  the  ser- 
vice which  thou  shalt  serve  me,  yet  seven  other 
years,"  may  be  understood  as  denoting  the  "  week " 
during  which  the  wedding  feast  was  continued.  It 
would  not  be  proper  to  give  him  another  wife,  till  all 
the  ceremonies  of  the  first  wedding  had  been  ob- 
served,    xxix.  27. 

121.  A  somewhat  singular  custom  existed  at  that 
time,  that,  when  a  brother  died,  leaving  a  wife  Avith 
no  children,  the  next  brother  should  marry  the  sur- 
viving widow,  and  the  fruit  of  this  new  marriage, 
should  be  regarded  in  the  same  light,  as  if  they  had 
been  the  product  of  the  first  union,     xxxviii.  8,  9. 

125.  Th.e  wearing  of  a  veil,  by  unmarried  women, 
in  the  presence  of  their  intended,  is  shown  in  the 
case  of  Rebekah,  as  she  approached  Isaac,  when  about 


78  INTRODUCTION. 

to  become  his  wife.  The  maid  descended  from  the 
back  of  the  camel,  and  placing  her  veil  over  her  face, 
went  forward  to  meet  her  husband,     xxiv.  65. 

SECTION  III.  — Death  and  Burial. 

126.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that,  nowhere  in  the 
book  of  Genesis,  is  there  any  reference  to  ill  health, 
save  in  one  single  instance.  The  references  that 
come  the  nearest  to  this,  do  not  imply  actual  disease. 
Leah  was  tender-eyed  ;  but  this  may  have  no  allusion 
to  disease.  The  patriarchs  became  blind  in  their 
extreme  old  age.  So  the  infirmity  of  barrenness  was 
not  uncommon.  Men  died  in  those  days,  sometimes 
prematurely  by  violence,  as  Abel  did  by  the  hand  of 
Cain ;  and  as  they  were  slain  in  the  battle  field ;  or 
swept  away  by  some  divine  judgment,  but  we  can 
recall  no  instance  where  they  are  said  to  have  died 
of  disease.  The  sickness  oi'  Israel,  just  before  his 
death,  xlviii.  1,  was  evidently  nothing  more  than  the 
infirmity  of  old  age,  as  life  gradually  faded  away,  and 
the  lamp  was  about  to  become  extinct. 

127.  How  the  dead  body  was  prepared  for  burial, 
in  ordinary  cases,  we  are  not  informed.  In  Egypt  it 
was  customary  to  embalm  the  body  and  place  it  in  a 
coffin.  At  least,  this  was  done  with  persons  of  dis- 
tinction. But  Egypt  had  its  own  usages,  which  must 
not  be  produced  as  those  of  Canaan  or  the  patriarchs, 
1.  26.  The  place  of  burial  in  Canaan  was  usually 
a  natural  cave.  Such  was  the  cave  of  Machpelah 
which  Abraham  bought  of  the  sons  of  Heth.  There 
Abraham  was  himself  buried,  and  Sarah,  his  wife. 
There  too  were  buried  Isaac  and  Rebekah,  and  there 
Jacob  buried  Leah.  Rachel  was  buried  near  Beth- 
lehem, and  a  pillar  was  placed  over  her  grave,  which 
remained  there  a  long  time.  Deborah,  Rebekah'a 
nurse,  was  buried  under  an  oak  near  Bethel,  xxiii. 
16;  xlix.  31;  xxxv.  19,  20. 


INTRODUCTION.  T9 

128.  The  Hebrews,  like  others,  had  a  strong  desire 
to  be  buried  in  their  own  land.  Hence  Israel  exacted 
an  oath  of  Joseph  that  he  would  carry  him  back  to 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  bury  him  with  Abraham,  and 
Isaac,  in  the  sacred  cave  near  Hebron;  and  this  oath 
was  faithfully  executed.  Joseph,  too,  was  embalmed 
and  kept  in  Egypt,  till  the  removal  of  the  children  ol 
Israel  from  that  country,     xlvii.  29  ;  1.  25,  26. 

■»29.  Mourning  for  the  dead  is  sometimes  men- 
tioned. Abraham  mourned  for  Sarah;  but  what  cer- 
emonies were  observed  we  are  not  informed.  The 
Eo-yptians  mourned  "threescore  and  ten  days"  for 
Is'^-ael,  such  being  their  custom.  And  when  the  pro- 
cession that  attended  the  body  of  that  patriarch 
from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  had  passed  into  that  land  they 
mourned  seven  days,  that  being,  perhaps  the  patri- 
archal custom.  The  language,  ''  they  made  a  mourn- 
ing," shows  that  the  allusion  is  not  to  the  exercise  of 
grief,  but  to  certain  funeral  ceremonies.  It  appears 
that  widows  were  accustomed  to  wear  a  peculiar 
dress,  to  indicate  their  widowhood.  Hence  it  is  said 
of  Tamar,  that  she  "  put  off  her  widow's  garments." 
xxiii.  2 ;  1.  3,  10  ;  xxxviii.  14. 

SECTION  lY. —  Dress  and  Ornaments. 

130.  The  necessity  of  dress,  became  obvious  even 
to  our  first  parents;  hence  they  sewed  fig  leaves 
together  to  make  themselves  aprons ;  hence,  too, 
they  were  afterwards  supplied  with  coats  of  skin. 
Allusion  is  made  to  the  garments  of  Noah ;  but 
whether  they  were  made  of  skin  or  other  material, 
does  not  appear.  Other  allusions  are  equally  indefi- 
nite. The  coat  of  many  colors,  given  to  Joseph,  was 
evidently  unusual  ;  but  more  than  this  cannot  be 
ascertained.  Sackcloth,  worn  on  occasions  of  mourn- 
ing, was,  doubtless,  something  manufactured ;  but  of 
what  material  is  left  wholly  to  conjecture.     It  took 


80  INTRODUCTION. 

its  name,  sack  cloth  from  the  use  commonly  made  of 
it.  It  is  reasonable  to  conclude  that  they  had  some- 
thing finer  for  ordinary  wear,     xxxvii.  3.1:. 

The  form  of  their  clothing  is  not  less  uncertain, 
than  the  material  of  which  it  was  made.  There  must 
have  been  something  peculiar  in  the  widow's  gar- 
ments before  alluded  to.  That  females  wore  veils, 
under  certain  circumstances,  we  know.  That  the 
garment  of  Joseph,  left  in  the  hands  of  his  mistress 
was  a  loose  robe,  easily  parted  with,  is  a  plain  infer- 
ence from  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  The  shoe- 
lachet,  once  mentioned,  would  imply  the  use  of  shoes, 
but  the  frequent  washing  of  the  feet,  mentioned  in 
the  book,  makes  it  evident  that  the  shoes,  worn  in 
those  days,  were  but  an  imperfect  protection.  Neces- 
sity would  suggest  the  propriety  of  a  change  of  gar- 
ments ;  and  hence  we  read  of  such  in  several  places, 
xxxviii.  14;  xxiv.  65;  xxxviii.  14;xxxix.  12,  15;  xiv. 
23  ;  xli.  14  ;  xiv.  22. 

131.  The  Hebrews  were  not  insensible  to  the  claims 
of  beauty  ;  and  they  sought  to  add  the  use  of  orna- 
ments to  their  natural  charms.  The  signet, staff  and 
bracelet  of  Judah,  are  well  known  as  associated  with 
his  personal  degradation.  Ear-rings  and  bracelets 
were  given  to  Rebekah  ;  so  also  were  ^'  jewels  of  sil- 
ver and  jewels  of  gold."  Other  '^  precious  things" 
were  given  to  her  mother  and  brother,  which  may 
have  been  ornaments,  or  they  may  have  been  things  of 
more  substantial  value,     xxxviii.  18,  25  ;  xxiv.  30,53. 

Fine  linen,  worn  in  Egypt,  was  for  beauty,  as  Avell 
as  for  comfort,  no  doubt.  The  ring  of  Pharaoh,  given 
to  Joseph  as  a  badge  of  his  authority,  was  as  much 
an  ornament,  as  a  mark  of  distinction.  The  gold 
neck-chain  has  the  same  significance.  It  must  be 
ad  led,  however,  that  the  refinements  and  luxuries 
of  Egypt,  must  not  be  referred  to  the  shepherds  of 
Canaan.  It  is  well  to  mark  the  differenoe  in  the  two 
countries,  as  we  read  the  sacred  narrative,     xli.    42. 


INTRODUCTION.  81 

As  the  Egyptians  and  Hebrews,  however,  had  the 
same  period  of  history,  according  to  the  Mosaic 
account,  it  may  not  be  easy  to  account  for  the  differ- 
ence. It  is  perhaps  to  be  attributed  mainly  to  the  ex- 
ceeding fruitfulness  of  Egypt,  and  the  greater  perma- 
nency of  the  people.  A  nomad  hfe  i^'  more  iavorable 
to  simplicity  and  integrity,  than  it  is  to  social  cultiva- 
tion and  refinement. 

SECTION   y.— Habitations. 

132.  Jabal  was  the  father  of  such  as  dwell  in  tents 
and  have  cattle.  From  the  earliest  time,  therefore, 
the  keeping  of  flocks  and  herds  was  a  prominent  oc- 
cupation ;  and  this  occupation  did  not  admit  of  per- 
manent dwelhngs.  The  shepherds,  therefore,  dwelt 
in  tents,  which  they  carried  from  place  to  place,  as 
occasion  required.  And  even  when  they  remained  in 
the  same  locality  several  years,  as  they  sometimes 
did,  they  did  not,  on  that  account,  relinquish  their 
tents  to  adopt  more  permanent  habitations.  In  the 
cities  of  Canaan,  (which  were  inconsiderable  villages) 
the  people  lived  in  houses,  which,  by  the  references 
to  them.,  are  plainly  distinguished  from  the  tents  of 
the  country.  The  references  to  Lot's  house  in  Sodom, 
are  a  plain  illustration  of  what  is  here  stated.  The 
strife  between  him  and  the  men  of  Sodom,  at  the  door 
of  his  house,  shows  that  it  was  comparatively  a  per- 
manent and  substantial  structure.  The  city  itself 
seems  to  have  been  surrounded  by  ,a  wall,  as  an  allu- 
sion to  the  gate  of  the  city  plainly  shows,  iv.  20 ; 
xix.  6,  10.  It  would  seem  that  men  and  women,  not 
excepting  husbands  and  wives,  occupied  separate 
tents,  xxiv.  67  ;  xxxi.  33.  It  is  obvious  that  the 
structures  of  Egypt,  the  prison,  the  house  of  Pharaoh, 
the  house  of  Potiphar  and  of  Joseph,  were  more 
spacious  and  substantial  than  any  alluded  to  in  Pales- 
tine. 

4* 


82  INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  TI.— Domestic  Utensils. 

133.  The  knife  that  Abraham  took  with  him,  with 
the  wood  for  a  burnt  offering,  was  not  originally  in- 
tended for  any  such  purpose  as  he  then  had  in  view. 
It  would  be  safe  to  regard  it  as  one  of  the  domestic 
utensils  of  those  days.  The  instrument,  with  which, 
on  the  same  occasion,  he  '^  clave  the  wood  for  a  burnt 
offering,"  may  be  reckoned  as  another;  though  its 
existence  is  learned  only  by  implication.  The  pitcher 
that  was  used  to  draw  water,  was  another  domestic 
utensil,  and  probably  combined  the  advantages  both 
of  a  bucket  and  a  pitcher,  and  was  more  like  the 
former  than  the  latter.  The  bottle  and  its  use,  are 
indicated  by  the  provision  that  Abraham  made  for 
Hagar,  as  he  sent  her  away  from  his  house.  Carrying 
it  on  the  shoulder  would  lead  us  to  infer  that  it  was 
quite  different  in  form  from  the  bottles  of  our  day ; 
and  the  art  required  in  making  our  bottles  was  not 
known  in  those  ancient  times,     xxii.  6  ;  xxiv.  14. 

134.  Out-door  utensils,  as  well  as  in-door,  were  no 
doubt  much  more  numerous  than  the  allusions  would 
lead  us  to  infer  ;  but  what  they  were,  except  so  far  as 
they  are  mentioned  or  implied,  we  do  not  assume  to 
say.  For  hunting  they  made  use  of  the  bow  and 
quiver.  For  carrying  their  grain  they  had  sacks. 
They  had  watering  troughs,  out  of  which  their  cattle 
could  drink.  They  sheared  their  sheep,  and  of  course 
they  had  some  instrument  to  do  it  with.  Seeing  a 
ladder  in  a  vision,  would  imply  its  existence  as  a  real- 
ity. They  cut  their  grain,  and  must  have  had  some- 
thing to  cut  it  with,  and  some  mode  of  threshing  and 
cleaning  it.  The  cup  of  the  butler  in  Egypt,  and  the 
basket  of  the  baker,  belong  to  the  refinements  of  that 
country,  and  may  have  no  representatives  in  the 
grazing  districts  of  Canaan,  xxvii.  3  ;  xlii.  25  ;  xxiv. 
20  ;  xxxviii.  12  ;  xxviii.  12  ;  xxxvii.  7  ;  xl.  11,  16. 


INTRODUCTION.  83 

135.  We  have  mentioned  some  implements  that  are 
known  to  have  existed  by  implication,  as  well  as  those 
expressly  named.  Many  more  may  be  noticed.  Having 
tents  and  houses,  the  Hebrews  must  have  had  some 
implements  for  constructing  them.  Milking  their  kine 
and  their  goats,  they  must  have  had  some  vessel  for 
containing  the  milk.  Building  the  gates  of  cities, 
would  require  some  mechanical  tools  to  work  with. 

But  here  I  may  correct  a  popular  error.  Some 
writers  make  Sodom  (a  city  often  referred  to,)  to  have 
been  a  city  of  great  magnificence,  with  mighty  works 
of  art,  and  surrounded  by  imposing  walls  of  stone. 
Some  have  pretended  that  relics  of  lofty  temples,  and 
other  magnificent  structures,  have  been  found  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  Dead  Sea,  that  once  belonged  to  the 
doomed  city,  and  are  now  the  monuments  of  the 
divine  wrath  that  occasioned  its  overthrow.  It  is 
hardly  necessary  to  say  that  such  a  representation 
betrays  vast  ignorance  of  the  times  in  which  Sodom 
was  destroyed,  and  is  contradicted  by  all  the  facts 
mentioned  in  Genesis  having  any  bearing  on  this 
subject. 

SECTION  YII.— Occupation. 

136.  Man  was  originally  intended  for  cultivating 
the  earth.  This  was  one  object  of  his  creation. 
Hence  in  all  ages  past,  and  in  all  ages  to  come,  this 
has  been,  and  must  be,  his  principal  dependence  for 
physical  support.  When  Adam  was  placed  in  the 
garden  of  Eden,  he  was  instructed  to  keep  it  and 
dress  it.  And  when  he  was  sent  forth  from  the  gar- 
den, he  was  to  gain  his  bread  by  tilling  the  ground. 
Cain  is  mentioned  as  a  tiller  of  the  ground.  Of  Noah 
it  is  said,  ^^  This  same  shall  comfort  us  concerning  our 
work,  and  the  toil  of  our  hands,  because  of  the 
ground  which  the  Lord  hath  cursed."  It  is  plain, 
therefore,  that,  from  Adam  to  Noah,  tillage   had  been, 


84  INTRODUCTION. 

as  it  must  of  necessity  be,  a  principal  occupation. 
When  the  flood  was  over,  a  gracious  promise  was 
given  to  the  world,  that  seed  time  and  harvest  should 
not  cease  till  the  end  of  time,  a  farther  evidence  that 
tillage  was  to  be  as  perpetual  as  the  world,  i.  28  ; 
ii.  15  ;  iii.  23  ;  iv.   2  ;  v.  29  ;   viii.  22. 

137.  The  first  instance  of  tillage  after  the  flood 
was  that  of  Noah,  w4io  planted  a  vineyard  and  drank 
of  the  wine  thereof  The  next  is  that  of  Isaac,  who 
sowed  the  ground  in  the  land  of  the  Philistines,  and 
received  an  hundred  fold  that  year.  The  allusion  to 
the  ''  wheat  harvest"  shows  that  this  was  one  of  the 
occupations  of  the  patriarchs,  in  the  time  of  Jacob. 
Joseph's  dream,  in  which  he  supposes  himself  to  be 
binding  sheaves  in  the  field,  is  of  the  same  import. 
The  threshing  floor  of  Atad  implies  the  same  occupa- 
tion and  the  mode  of  making  it  available.  The  grain 
produced  in  Egypt  by  which  the  people  were  sup- 
ported during  seven  years  of  famine,  is  a  proof  not 
only  that  agriculture  was  one  of  the  occupations  of 
that  people,  but  that  the  country  was  one  of  uncom- 
mon fruitfulness,  as  it  has  always  been  from  that 
day  to  this.  ix.  21  ;  xxvi.  12  ;  xxx.  14  ;  xxxvii.  7 ;  1. 
10. 

138.  The  patriarchs  not  only  occupied  themselves 
with  the  cultivation  of  the  ground,  but  with  the  keep- 
ing of  flocks  and  herds.  Abel  was  a  keeper  of  sheep. 
Jabal  was  the  father  of  such  as  dwell  in  tents  and 
have  cattle.  Tents  and  cattle  are  here  associated, 
because  they  were  in  fact  inseparable.  He  who  had 
the  one  dwelt  in  the  other.  As  water  was  not  abun- 
dant in  that  country,  the  digging  of  wells  requiring  a 
good  deal  of  labor,  became  a  matter  of  necessity  ;  and 
these  being  a  valuable  possession,  were  not  unfre- 
quently  the  occasion  of  strife  among  the  herdsmen. 
The  herdsmen  of  Abram  and  Lot  strove.  Through 
envy  the  Philistines  stopped  up  the  wells  that  were 
dug  in  the  days  of  Abram ;  and  when  Isaac  was  in 


INTRODUCTION.  85 

that  country,  he  caused  them  to  be  opened,  and  called 
them  by  the  names  they  had  borne  at  first.  A  strife 
between  Isaac  and  the  herdsmen  of  Gerar,  is  men- 
tioned in  the  same  connection ;  and  the  wells  were 
named  Esek  and  Sitnah  with  reference  to  this  circum- 
stance. Another,  about  which  they  strove  not,  he 
named  Rehoboth.  It  may  be  added,  that  the  nammg 
of  wells  shows  the  importance  attached  to  them  at 
that  time.     iv.  2,  20  ;  xiii.  7  ;  xxvi.  18,  20,  21,  22. 

139.  The  immediate  care  of  the  flocks  and  herds 
was  frequently,  perhaps  generally,  given  into  the 
hands  of  females.  At  least,  the  business  of  watermg 
them,  which  was  done  once  or  more  every  day,  was 
attended  to  by  them.     xxiv.  11  ;  xxix.  7—10. 

140.  A  man's  prosperity,  in  those  days,  was  esti- 
mated mainly  by  the  increase  in  the  number  of  his 
cattle,  and  the  man  who  had  large  flocks  and  herds, 
gained  distinction  more  by  this  circumstance,  than  by 
any  other,     xxx.   30,  43  ;  xxvi.  14. 

SECTION  VIIL— Food. 

141.  The  occupation  of  the  patriarchs,  will  at  once 
suggest  their  mode  of  living,  and  the  food  they  ate. 
"Every  herb  bearing  seed,  and  fruit  tree  bearing 
fruit,"  was  originally  given  to  man  for  food.  He 
was  furthermore  to  have  dominion  over  the  beasts  of 
the  field,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and  the  fishes  of  the 
sea,  evidently  with  the  intention  of  his  deriving  a  part 
of  his  subsistence  from  that  source.  Animal,  as  well 
as  vegetable  food,  was  directly  allowed  after  the  flood, 
and  was  allowed  by  implication  before.  A  few  refer- 
ences will  bring  to  view  difl'erent  kinds  of  both.  The 
food  prepared  by  Abraham  for  the  men  that  appeared 
to  him  in  Mamre,  consisted  of  fine  meal,  made  into 
cakes  and  baked  upon  the  hearth ;  also  a^  fatted  calf, 
tender  and  good  ;  and  butter  and  milk.  i.  29  ;  ix.  2  ; 
xviii.  6,  7.     Unleavened  bread  was  provided  by  Lot 


86  INTRODUCTION. 

for  the  messengers  that  came  to  him  at  Sodom.  Bread 
and  a  bottle  of  water  were  given  to  Hagar,  as  she  left 
the  abode  of  her  mistress.  Pottage  is  mentioned  as 
that  for  which  Esau  sold  his  birthright.  Savory  meat, 
made  of  the  flesh  of  wild  animals,  was  a  favorite  dish 
with  Isaac  in  his  old  age.  It  was  a  kind  of  meat  that 
could  be  imitated  by  a  skilful  hand.  "  Plenty  of  corn 
and  wine,"  are  among  the  blessings  invoked  upon 
Jacob  by  his  aged  father.  "  Mandrakes,"  about  which 
Rachel  and  Leah  had  some  altercation,  were  proba- 
bly not  food  but  medicine ;  intended  perhaps  to 
remove  an  infirmity  of  which  Rachel  was  afflicted  at 
that  time.  The  Ishmaehtes  of  Gilead  carried  into 
Egypt  "  spicery,  balm  and  myrrh."  These  were  lux- 
uries not  indulged  in  at  home,  but  were  such  as 
found  a  ready  market  in  Egypt,  another  evidence 
that  civilization  and  luxury  go  hand  in  hand.  Another 
passage  speaks  of  ^^  a  little  balm,  and  a  little  honey, 
spices  and  myrrh,  nuts  and  almonds,"  being  sent  as  a 
present  to  Joseph  in  Egypt,  xix.  3  ;  xxi.  14 ;  xxv. 
29,  34;  xxvii.  4,  9,  28;  xxx.  22;  xxxvii.  25;  xliii.  11. 

142.  No  mention  is  made  of  any  kind  of  drink  but 
water  and  wine.  Noah  drank  wine ;  so  did  Lot. 
And  wine  was  brought  forth  to  Abraham  by  Melchiz- 
edek,  as  the  former  returned  from  the  slaughter  of 
the  kings.  So  wine  as  well  as  corn  were  among 
the  blessings  invoked  upon  Jacob  by  his  aged  father, 
ix.  21 ;  xix.  32  ;  xiv.  18. 

SECTION  IX.— Domestic  Animals. 

143.  The  following  domestic  animals  are  alluded  to 
in  the  book  of  Genesis :  —  sheep,  oxen,  asses,  camels, 
goats,  doves,  pigeons,  mules,  and  horses.  Horses  aie 
mentioned  only  in  connection  with  Egypt.  Sheep 
were  kept,  not  only  for  food,  but  for  the  fleece  and 
skin.  Oxen  was  a  name  that  included  both  sexes,  and 
they  were  used  as  food.  Asses  were  beasts  of  bur- 
den ;  so  were  camels      The   people  ate  the  flesh   of 


INTRODUCTION.  87 

goats,  and  drank  their  milk.  The  skins  of  these  ani- 
mals they  made  into  bottles,  or  water-sacks.  The  tur- 
tle dove  and  pigeon,  as  well  as  the  sheep,  heifer  and 
goat,  were  offered  as  sacrifices,  xii.  16 ;  xv.  9 ; 
xxxvi.  24;  xlvii.  17;  xlix.  17;  xxiv.  63;  xv.  9. 

SECTION  X.— Wild  Animals. 

144.  Nimrod  is  called  a  mighty  hunter ;  and  this 
imphes  the  existence  of  many  wild  and  dangerous 
animals  at  the  time  he  lived.  8o  was  Esau  a  hunter. 
Ishmael  too,  is  called  an  archer,  which  means  the 
same  thing.  Speaking  of  a  sacrifice,  it  is  added,  ''And 
when  the  fowls  came  down  upon  the  carcasses,  Abram 
drove  them  away,"  a  plain  intimation  that  there  were 
wild  and  voracious  birds,  as  well  as  the  tame  ones 
before  mentioned,     x.  9  ;  xxv.  27  ;  xxvii.  3  ;  xxi.  20  ; 

XV.  9.  .         r      v.. 

145.  When  Esau  went  to  procure  venison  tor  his 
father's  savory  meat,  his  success  of  course,  implies 
the  existence  of  wild  animals  fit  for  food.  When  Lot 
left  Sodom,  as  that  city  was  about  to  be  destroyed, 
he  was  unwiUing  to  go  to  the  mountains,  ''  lest  some 
evil  take  him  and  he  die,"  a  reference,  it  would  seem, 
to  the  dangerous  animals  to  which  he  would  be  ex- 
posed. The  sad  conclusion  to  which  Jacob  came  in 
regard  to  Joseph,  "  that  some  evil  beast  had  devoured 
him,"  must  have  the  same  application.  Jacob  in  his 
defence  to  Laban,  refers  to  the  beasts  that  had  in- 
fested his  flocks.  Reference  may  be  here  made  to 
the  wolf,  as  we  find  that  animal  once  alluded  to,  in  a 
highly  figurative  passage.  The  serpent  is  mentioned 
in  the  account  of  the  temptation,  and  still  later,  the 
serpent  and  adder.  The  raven  was  one  of  the  birds 
sent  forth  from  the  ark  of  Noah.  The  lion  is  once 
mentioned ;  and  this  is  sufficient  to  establish  the  fact 
that  such  an  animal  was  known  in  those  days,  xxvii. 
3 ;  xix.  19  ;  xxxvii.  33  ;  xxxi.  39 ;  xlix.  27 ;  iii.  1 ; 
xlix.  17  ;  xlix.  9. 


88  INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  XL— Patriarchal  Wealth. 

146.  The  wealth  of  the  patriarchs  consisted  chiefly 
of  their  flocks  and  herds.  Abraham  had  '^  sheep,  and 
oxen,  and  he  asses,  and  men  servants,  and  maid  ser- 
vants, and  she  asses,  and  camels."  He  is  also  said  to 
have  been  '^  rich  in  cattle,  and  silver  and  gold."  Lot 
had  flocks,  and  herds,  and  tents.  Abimelech  took 
sheep  and  oxen,  and  men  servants  and  women  ser- 
vants, and  gave  them  to  Abraham.  The  present  sent 
to  Esau  by  Jacob,  which  seems  to  have  been  but  a 
small  part  of  his  possessions,  was  still  very  consider- 
able. It  consisted  of  Iwo  hundred  she  goats,  and 
twenty  he  goats,  two  hundred  ewes  and  twenty  rams, 
thirty  milch  camels,  with  their  colts,  forty  kine,  ten 
bulls,  twenty  she  asses,  and  ten  foals,  xii.  IG;  xiii. 
2,  5 ;  XX.  14 ;  xxiv.  35  ;  xxxii.  14,  15. 

147.  Mention  is  made  of  money ;  but  it  does  not 
seem  to  have  been  regarded  as  any  part  of  wealth. 
Abraham  paid  money,  four  hundred  shekels  of  silver, 
for  the  cave  of  Machpelah  and  the  surrounding  field. 
Several  allusions  are  made  to  the  money  that  was 
sent  down  to  Egypt  for  the  purchase  of  corn.  In 
this  instance  the  money  is  reckoned  by  weight,  while 
in  most  cases  it  is  estimated  by  the  number  of  pieces. 
The  phrase  "  current  money  with  the  merchant," 
shows  that  there  was  some  established  usage,  as  to 
the  mode  of  estimating  it,  and  the  value  placed  upon 
each  piece.  It  was  only,  or  principally  with  the  mer- 
chant, that  money  was  made  the  medium  of  excliange. 
Hence  twenty  pieces  of  silver  were  paid  for  Joseph, 
by  the  Midianites.  Had  money  been  in  common  use, 
we  can  hardly  account  for  its  being  omitted  in  other 
transactions,  where  it  would  have  been  a  great  conve- 
nience. Jacob  paid  for  his  two  wives  by  labor,  and 
was  afterwards  paid  for  his  labor  l)y  a  certain  pro- 
portion of  the  flocks  and  herds.  Judah  ofl'ered  Ta- 
mar  a  kid,  when  the  pa3mient  of  its  equivalent  in 


INTRODUCTION.  89 

money,  would  have  been  much  more  cuuveuient,  and 
might  have  saved  hhn  a  subsequent  disgrace,  xxiii. 
9,  15;  xhi.  25,  35  ;  xliii.  21 ;  xxiii.  16;  xxxvii.  28 ; 
xxxviii.  17. 

148.  Ileal  estate  possessions  are  recognized.  Cities 
and  countries  were  separated  from  each  other  by  cer- 
tain, not  very  dehnite  boundaries  ;  and  the  rights  of 
the  people,  within  such  limits,  were  seldom  made  the 
occasion  of  conflict.  The  boundaries  of  Canaan,  for 
example,  are  described  thus  :  —  '^And  the  border  of 
the  Canaanites  was  fromyidon,as  thou  comest  to  Gerar 
unto  Gaza,  as  thou  goest  unto  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
and  Admah  and'  Zeboim,  even  unto  Lasha."  In  the 
days  of  Peleg  the  earth  was  divided,  which  may  mean 
(and  may  not)  that  there  was  some  arrangement 
about  the  particular  portion  of  territory  that  should 
belong  to  each  nation.  Hence  such  language  as  the 
following,  in  the  same  connection,  may  have  refer- 
ence to  such  an  arrangement.  ^'  These  are  the  sons 
of  Shem,  after  their  families,  after  their  tongues,  in 
their  lands,  after  their  nations.''  x.  19,  25,  31.  ^^  The 
plain  of  Mamre  "  seems  to  recognize  the  right  of 
Mamre  (who  was  one  of  Abram's  confederates  xiv. 
13,)  to  the  ownership  of  that  region  of  country.  The 
valley  of  Shevah  is  called  '^  the  king's  dale,"  referring 
to  the  king  of  Sodom,  to  whom  that  valley  belonged. 
The  offer  of  Abraham  to  purchase  the  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah  was  an  acknowledgment  that  the  property  be- 
longed to  another  whose  consent  to  its  occupancy 
must  first  be  obtained.  Farther  than  this  ;  as  one  par- 
ticular individual  among  the  sons  of  Heth,  namely, 
Ephron,  had  to  be  sought  for  and  consulted,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  thefield  and  cave  were  not  held  in  common 
by  the  tribe,  but  were  the  possession  of  that  man 
alone.  So  Jacob,  when  he  returned  from  Padan 
Aram,  and  pitched  his  tent  near  Shalem,  bought  a 
parcel  of  a  field  where  he  had  spread  his  tent,  at  the 
hand  of  the  children  of  Hamor,  Shechem's  father,  for 


90  INTRODUCTION. 

a  hundred  pieces  of  money.  So  in  Egypt,  when  the 
people  had  paid  all  their  money  to  Joseph  for  food, 
they  say  to  him  :  "  There  is  not  aught  left  in  the  sight 
of  our  lord,  but  our  bodies  and  our  lands."  It  is 
added  ;  Joseph  bought  all  the  land  of  Egypt  for  Pha- 
raoh ;  for  the  Egyptians  sold  every  man  his  field." 
The  lands  of  the  priests  were  exempted  from  this  ar- 
rangement, xiii.  18  ;  xiv.  17 ;  xxiii.  15 ;  xxxiii.  19  ; 
xlvii.  18-22. 

SECTION  XII. —Trade  and  Commerce. 

149.  In  the  arrangement  that  was  lo  have  been  en- 
tered into  by  Shechem  and  his  father  Hamor,  on  the 
one  side,  and  Jacob  and  his  sons  on  the  other,  the 
latter  were  to  have  the  privilege  of ''  remaining  in  the 
land  and  trading  and  getting  possessions  therein." 
The  trade,  here  referred  to,  however,  must  have  been 
quite  limited.  There  was  a  class  of  professional  "  mer- 
chantmen" whose  business  is  sufficiently  described  in 
the  only  passage  that  speaks  of  them.  They  carried 
down  to  Egypt  the  choicest  productions  of  their  coun- 
try, "  balm,  spicery  and  myrrh."  And  the  fact  that  they 
purchased  Joseph ;  and  the  thing  is  not  mentioned  as 
unusual,  shows  us  that  they  were  not  unaccustomed 
to  the  traffic  in  human  chattels.  Indeed  the  frequent 
allusion  to  servants,  bought  with  money,  makes  it  evi- 
dent that  this  was  one  article  of  commerce  in  those 
days,  not  only  with  the  Ishmaelites  and  Egyptians  but 
with  Abraham  and  the  other  patriarchs.  That  real 
estate  was  bought  and  sold  we  have  seen  in  another 
place,  xxxiv.  8-11 ;  xxxvii.  28 ;  xxxiii.l9. 

SECTION  XIII.  — Oaths  and  Contracts. 

150.  As  a  specimen  of  contracts,  or  rather  the  mode 
of  making  them,  that  between  Abraham  and  Abime- 
lech,  may  be  noticed.  Abimelech,  said  to  Abraham  ; 
"  Now,  therefore,  sware  unto  me  here  by  God,  that 


INTRODUCTION.  91 

thou  wilt  not  deal  falsely  with  me,  nor  with  my  son, 
nor  with  my  son's  son;  but,  according  to  the  kindness 
I  have  done  unto  thee,  thou  shalt  do  unto  me,  and 
to  the  land  wherein  thou  hast  sojourned."  Abraham 
did  swear  as  requested,  and  gave  Abimelech  sheep 
and  oxen,  to  remind  him  of  the  obhgations  that  rested 
upon  the  parties.  And,  moreover,  having  had  some 
difficulty  with  Abimelech  concerning  a  well  which 
the  latter  had  at  length  admitted  to  be  Abraham's, 
seven  ewe  lambs  are  placed  by  themselves,  and  given 
over  to  Abimelech  as  a  perpetual  memento  of  the 
proper  ownership  of  the  well.  The  covenant  between 
Jacob  and  Laban,  after  being  sufficiently  explained, 
was  attested  by  a  monument,  a  heap  of  stones,  that 
should  ever  remind  the  contracting  parties  of  their 
mutual  obhgations,  and  help  to  perpetuate  the  under- 
standing to  future  times.  The  bargain  of  Jacob  and 
Esau,  by  which  the  latter  sold  his  birthright,  was  sanc- 
tioned by  an  oath.  xxi.  23-32 ;  xxxi.  44-55  ;  xxy.  33. 
The  form  of  swearing,  with  a  view  to  ratify  an 
engagement,  was  not  always  the  same.  It  was  some- 
times by  hfting  up  the  hand  and  swearing  by  God, 
and  sometimes  by  placing  the  hand  under  the  thigh. 
Swearing  was  sometimes  by  God,  and  sometimes  by 
other  forms.  Jacob  swore  by  the  fear  of  Isaac,  and 
Joseph,  by  the  life  of  Pharaoh,  xiv.  22  ;  xxiv.  2  ; 
xlvii.  29  ;  xxxi.  53 ;  xlii.  15. 

151.  The  most  important  of  all  contracts  are  such 
as  the  Deity  condescended  to  make  with  man.  _  The 
Covenant  with  Noah  and  his  sons,  and  every  living 
creature,  that  there  should  no  more  be  a  flood  upon 
the  earth,  was  ratified  by  a  perpetual  sign,  the  bow  in 
the  clouds.  The  promise  to  Abraham  that  God  would 
make  him  exceedingly  fruitful,  and  give  to  him,  and 
to  his  seed  after  him,  the  Avhole  land  of  Canaan,  was 
to  be  remembered  by  the  change  of  the  name  Abram 
to  Abraham,  the  latter  more  clearly  expressing  the 
nature  of  the  divine  promise.     On  another  occasion, 


92  INTRODUCTION. 

the  promise  is  repeated  with  some  important  additions, 
and  confirmed  by  an  oath.  The  rite  of  circumcision 
was  instituted,  as  another  memento  of  the  same  thing, 
ix.  9-13  ;  xvii.  2  ;  xxii.  16-18  ;  xvii.  11. 

SECTION  XIV.  — Wars. 

152.  The  most  important  war  recorded  in  Genesis, 
is  the  one  spoken  of  in  chapter  fourteenth.  It  seems 
to  be  related  chiefly  to  give  the  experience  of  Abra- 
ham and  Lot  in  relation  to  it.  The  latter  was  taken 
captive  and  afterwai'ds  restored  by  the  prompt  and 
energetic  movements  of  his  uncle,  and  brought  back 
to  his  home  in  Sodom.  The  narrative  brings  clearly 
before  us  the  state  of  society,  in  that  country,  at  the 
time  when  the  circumstances  occurred.  Each  king 
is  spoken  of  as  exercising  authority  over  a  single  city 
and  its  surrounding  country  ;  but  what  are  here  called 
''  cities"  were  obviously  but  inconsiderable  villages  of 
a  few  scores,  or  at  most,  a  few  hundreds  of  inhabitants, 
and  are  not  to  be  estimated  by  the  cities  of  modern 
times. 

153.  The  w^eapons  made  use  of  in  the  wars  of  those 
times,  may  be  learned  by  several  brief  allusions.  The 
sword  is  several  times  mentioned.  So  is  the  sword 
and  bow.  xxvii.  40  ;  xxxi.  26  ;  xxxiv.  25  ;  xlviii.  22. 
In  describing  the  descendants  of  Ishmael,  mention  is 
made  of  their  ''  castles,"  which  might  have  been,  and 
probably  were,  places  of  defence  against  an  invading 
foe.  XXV.  16.  The  apprehension  of  Jacob  that  the 
Canaanites  and  Perizzites  would  gather  themselves 
together  and  destroy  him  and  his  house,  on  account 
of  the  treacherous  conduct  of  his  sons,  xxxiv.  30  ; 
and  the  reason  given  why  they  did  not  do  this,  shoAvs 
clearly  that  war  was  not  uncommon  in  those  da^^s. 
The  covenant  between  Abraham  and  Abimelech,  and 
that  between  Laban  and  Jacob  were  evidently  intended 
to  prevent  such  an  occurrence.  That  the  military 
forces  of  those  times    were   subject  to   some  system, 


INTRODUCTION.  93 

seems  indicated  by  the  mention  of  Pliicol,  the  chief 
captain  of  Abimelech's  host.  The  captain  of  the  guard, 
was  an  officer  in  Egypt.  The  incidental  allusion  to 
the  ^'  digging  down  of  walls"  and  "  putting  the  hand 
on  the  neck  of  enemies/'  and  '^  instruments  of  cru- 
elty," seem  to  have  in  view  warlike  operations,  xxi. 
22  ;  xxxvii,  36  ;  xlix.  5,  6,  8. 

SECTION  XV.— Government. 

154.  Some  sort  of  government  is  essential  in  any 
form  of  society.  In  the  age  of  which  we  are  writing, 
the  patriarchal  seems  to  have  been  the  prevailing 
form.  The  father  was  the  presiding  sovereign  over 
his  family,  including  his  own  children,  and,  to  some 
extent,  his  grand  children.  And  even  when  a  son  had 
a  family  which  he  was  expected  to  govern,  he  still 
felt  bound  to  regard  the  wishes  of  his  father.  The 
kings  that  ruled  over  the  cities  mentioned  in  chapter 
fourteenth,  were  both  civil  and  military  rulers.  They 
are  called  "  kings,"  while  Abraham  is  not  so  desig- 
nated, yet  he  was  doubtless  so  regarded  by  others. 
And  the  part  he  took  in  the  war  as  leader  of  his 
'^  trained  servants,"  shows  that  he  occupied  the  same 
position. 

155.  The  government  of  Egypt  shows  a  more  ad- 
vanced state  of  society  than  that  of  Canaan.  Pharaoh 
was  king,  and  he  had  his  subordinate  princes,  his 
harem,  his  chief  butler  and  baker,  his  magicians  and 
wise  men,  his  captain  of  the  guard,  his  state  prison 
and  his  gallows  ;  and  surely  the  last  named  append- 
ages have  always  been  regarded  as  evidences  of  civil- 
ization, xii.  15,  19  ;  xl.  1 ;  xl.  19 ;  xl.  3  ;  xxxix.  20  ; 
xL  19. 

That  the  officers  of  government  in  Egypt  were  dis- 
tinguished by  some  badge  of  authority,  is  plain  from 
what  is  said  of  the  ring  of  Pharaoh,  the  vestures  of 
fine  linen,  and  the  golden  chain,  that  were  put  upon 


94  INTRODUCTION. 

Joseph,  xli.  42,  43.  When  such  personages  were  vis- 
ited by  persons  from  a  distance,  asking  for  favors,  it 
was  customary  to  bring  to  them,  as  presents,  the 
choicest  productions  of  the  country  ;  not  so  much,  it 
is  presumed,  on  account  of  the  value  of  the  present,  as 
the  respect  and  deference  thus  shown  to  the  prince. 
There  is  an  allusion  to  the  "  sceptre,"  which  is  a 
requisite  accompaniment,  of  the  exercise  of  kingly 
power,     xliii.  11  ;  xlix.  10. 

156.  Lot  ^'  sat  in  the  gate"  of  the  city  of  Sodom. 
Did  he  not  sit  there  to  administer  justice  ?  We  know 
that  this  language  has  this  meaning  at  a  later  day. 
Did  not  the  mob  that  surrounded  his  house,  on  that 
memorable  night,  the  last  in  the  history  of  that  city, 
have  in  view  the  exercise  of  authority  by  Lot,  when 
they  said,  'Hhis  one  fellow  came  in  to  sojourn,  and  he 
will  needs  be  a  judge  ;"  and  was  it  not  the  adminis- 
tration of  that  good  man,  by  which  he  sought  to  re- 
strain their  wild  and  reckless  career,  that  mainly 
excited  their  displeasure  ?  Men  are  seldom  so  bad  as 
to  commit  outrages,  such  as  are  here  described,  with- 
out some  plausible  excuse.  The  one  their  language 
would  seem  to  imply,  is,  that  he  had  assumed  to  exer- 
cise more  authority  over  them  than  was  proper  for  a 
stranger,  xix.  1-9.  The  judge  sat  at  the  gate  of  the 
city  to  exercise  authority,  that  being  a  conspicuous 
place ;  and  there,  too,  for  the  same  reason,  were 
contracts  entered  into.  xix.  1  ;  xxiii.  10  ;  xxiv.  60 ; 
xxxiv.  20. 

157.  The  only  specific  punishment  for  any  specific 
crime  mentioned  in  reference  to  this  subject,  as  con- 
nected with  Canaan  and  the  patriarchs,  is  the  punish- 
ment of  death  for  harlotry.  The  punishment,  however, 
is  only  named,  not  being  inflicted,  on  account  of  palli- 
ating circumstances,  xxxviii.  24.  The  imprisonment 
of  Joseph  was  in  Egypt,  and  has  reference  to  that 
country.  It  was  obviously  not  what  it  would  have 
been,  had  there  not  been  suspicions  of  his  innocence. 


INTRODUCTION.  95 

And  though  such  suspicions  are  not  mentioned,  the 
mildness  of  the  infliction,  clearly  justifies  the  impres- 
sion that  there  were  such.  What  offence  the  butler 
and  baker  had  committed,  we  are  not  informed.  It  is 
evident  that  their  punishment  was  subject  to  modi- 
fication by  subsequent  disclosures,  as  this  is  neces- 
sary to  account  for  the  one  being  released  and  the 
other  executed,  contrary  to  their  expectations.  That 
being  reduced  to  servitude,  was  one  of  the  punish- 
ments of  crime,  may  be  inferred  from  the  proposition 
to  retain  Benjamin  as  a  servant,  for  having  stolen 
(as  Avas  supposed)  the  silver  cup.  I  infer  that  the 
punishment  of  the  chief  baker  was  first  decapitation ; 
after  which  his  headless  body  was  hung  upon  a  tree. 
xxxix.  20 ;  xl.  2,  21,  22 ;  xliv.  10. 

SECTION  XVI. —Servitude. 

158.  Noah  predicted  that  Canaan  should  be  a  ser- 
vant of  servants.  Abraham  had  three  hundred  and 
eighteen  servants  born  in  his  house  and  trained  in 
the  art  of  war.  Eleazer,  Abraham's  steward,  was  a 
servant,  as  the  phrase  '^  born  in  the  house,''  is  applied 
to  him.  He  was  prospective  heir  of  the  patriarch. 
He  was  the  oldest  servant  and  ruled  over  all  his  mas- 
ter had  ;  and  for  this  reason,  he  was  selected  to  go 
and  procure  a  wife  for  Isaac.  He  is  called  Eleazer  of 
Damascus,  and  probably  came  with  Abraham  from  the 
north,  from  Ur  of  the  Chaldees ;  as  Damascus  Avas 
located  in  that  region,  ix.  25  ;  xiv.  14 ;  xv.  2,  3  ; 
xxiv.  2. 

159.  Hagar  was  a  handmaid  to  Sarah,  and  is  called 
an  Egyptian.  And  it  may  be  remembered  that  before 
this,  Abraham  had  been  down  into  Egypt  and  had  so- 
journed there  for  a  time,  and  maid  servants  are  men- 
tioned as  among  the  presents  he  received  from  the 
Egyptian  king.  This  Hagar  was,  at  first,  treated  with 
great  respect,  and  was  assigned  to  Abraham  as  hi-s 


96  INTRODUCTION. 

concubine :  and  if  her  son  was  shut  out  from  being 
heir,  that  was  not  because  he  was  a  servant ;  for  the 
sons  of  the  second  wife  of  Abraham  were  treated  in 
the  same  manner,  xxv.  5.  Servants  were  sometimes 
bought  with  money  ;  and  those  born  in  the  house, 
must  have  sprung  from  such  as  were  at  first  bought, 
x/i.  1  ;  xii.  10, 16  ;  xxv.  5  ;  xvii.  13. 

160.  The  important  mission  entrusted  to  Eleazer, 
as  well  as  the  oath  exacted  of  him,  shows  the  confi- 
dence placed  in  him  by  his  master.  Nor  could  any 
one  have  been  treated  with  more  deference  and  re- 
spect, than  was  he,  by  the  people  to  whom  he  was 
sent.  The  handmaids  given  to  Leah  and  Rachel, 
and  afterwards  given  by  them  to  Jacob,  were  treated 
with  considerable  distinction.  The  sons  of  the  hand- 
maids are  reckoned  among  the  twelve  patriarchs,  as 
well  as  the  sons  of  the  wives  ;  and  though  the  sons 
of  Rachel  are  treated  with  special  affection,  and  for 
an  obvious  reason,  no  diiference  is  apparent  between 
the  sons  of  the  concubines  and  those  of  Leah.  xxiv. 
3,31. 

161.  Servants  were  made  such  by  being  taken  cap- 
tive in  war.  Simeon  and  Levi,  when  they  destroyed 
Shalem,  took  the  wives  and  little  ones  as  captives. 
They  were  made  servants  by  the  commission  of  crime. 
They  were  bought  with  mone3^     xxxiv.  29;  xliv.  17. 

It  m\y  be  ad  lad  that  there  is  no  evidence  that  the 
relation  of  master  and  servant  grew  up  among  the 
patriarchs,  nor  do  we  find  any  divine  requirement  that 
men  should  have  servants.  The  institution  came  into 
existence,  like  any  other  social  custom,  as  the  result 
of  circumstances  ;  and  was  allowed  to  remain  without 
any  special  condemnation.  It  was,  however,  a  very 
different  thing  from  the  system  of  servitude  in  our 
country,  as  several  of  the  references  already  given 
will  make  sufficiently  obvious. 


INTRODUCTION.  97 

SECTION  XVII.  —  Oriental  Hospitality. 

162.  Nothing  is  more  interesting  than  to  observe 
the  hospitality  of  the  ancients.  They  treated  stran- 
gers and  travellers  with  the  greatest  tenderness  and 
respect.  Let  us  notice  some  examples.  As  Abraham 
sat  in  the  door  of  his  tent,  he  saw  three  men  ap- 
proaching. Rising,  he  ran  to  meet  them  and  said ; 
"  my  lord,  if  now  I  have  found  favor  in  thy  sight, 
pass  not  away,  I  pray  thee,  from  thy  servant ;  let  a 
little  water,  I  pray  thee,  be  fetched ;  and  wash  your 
feet,  and  rest  yourselves  under  this  tree  ;  and  I  will 
fetch  a  morsel  of  bread  ;  and  comfort  ye  your  hearts." 
He  then  makes  arrangements  for  their  entertainment 
in  the  most  expeditious  and  generous  manner.  It  is 
true  that  these  men  were  divine  messengers ;  but  it 
does  not  appear  that  Abraham  at  first  knew  them  to 
be  such,  or  that  this  fact  had  any  influence  on  his  con- 
duct towards  them.  Indeed,  the  conduct  of  Abraham 
is  only  one  instance,  out  of  many,  where  the  same 
generous  hospitality  is  oifered  to  strangers.  The  lan- 
guage of  Lot  to  the  angels  that  came  to  him  in  the 
evening,  is  of  the  same  kind  with  that  just  noticed 
"  Behold,  now  my  lords,  turn  in,  I  pray  you,  into  your 
servant's  house,  and  tarry  all  night,  and  wash  your 
feet ;  and  ye  shall  rise  up  early  and  go  on  your  ways." 
These  men  are  indeed  called  angels,  but  this  term  is 
quite  as  applicable  to  human  beings,  as  to  those  not 
human  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  Lot  had  no  knowledge 
of  their  divine  mission  till  a  later  period.  The  readi- 
ness with  which  Rebekah  supplied  the  wants  of  Abra- 
ham's servant,  by  giving  him  drink  and  offering  to 
water  his  camels,  is  quite  in  harmony  with  the  gener- 
ous sentiment  that  every  where  shows  itself  in  those 
ancient  times.  Not  less  generous  was  the  conduct  of 
the  ^  sons  of  Heth,  when  they  offered  Abraham  his 
choice,  in  regard  to  a  burial  place  for  his  dead,  and 
showed  a  delicate  unwiUingness  to  receive  pay  for 
5 


98  INTRODUCTION. 

such  a  privilege.  And  one  cannot  suppress  the  con- 
viction that  Abraham  insisted  on  paying  for  a  place 
of  burial ;  with  an  ulterior  purpose  ;  presuming,  it 
may  be,  that  the  amicable  state  of  things  then  existing 
might  not  always  continue,  xviii.  4,  5 ;  xix.  2 ; 
xxiv.  18-20 ;  xxiii.  6. 

SECTION  XVIII.  — Salutations. 

163.  The  observances  of  friends  on  meeting  and 
parting,  may  be  noticed  here.  The  language  of  Laban 
to  Jacob,  shows  that  parting  with  friends  was  some- 
times attended  with  music  and  merriment.  The  par- 
ties kissed  each  other  on  meeting  and  separating. 
When  Jacob  first  met  Rachel,  his  future  wife,  he 
kissed  her,  and  then  informed  her  of  the  relation  that 
existed  between  them.  So  Laban  ran  out  to  meet 
Jacob ;  and  embracing,  kissed  him.  When  Jacob 
was  about  to  meet  his  brother  Esau,  after  a  long  sep- 
aration, having  a  desire  to  show  him  special  respect, 
he  bowed  seven  times  to  the  earth.  Esau  ran  to  meet 
him  ;  and  embracing  him,  fell  on  his  neck  and  kissed 
him  and  both  of  them  wept.  A  similar  meeting  is 
recorded  of  Joseph  and  Benjamin  in  Egypt,  and  after- 
w^ards  of  Joseph  and  his  aged  father.  JBowing  to  the 
earth,  or  perhaps  only  towards  the  earth,  was  a  com- 
mon token  of  respect  and  deference.  Abraham  bowed 
himself  to  the  people  of  the  land  when  he  was  about 
to  negotiate  with  the  sons  of  Heth  for  Machpelah. 
So  Jacob  bowed  himself  before  Esau,  as  seen  above. 
xxxi.  2T,  2S,  55  ;  xxix.  11, 12, 13 ;  xxxiii.  3,  4  ;  xlv. 
14  ;  xlvi.  29 ;  xxiii.  7,  12. 

SECTION  XIX.— The  Arts. 

164.  Of  course  what  we  call  the  arts  of  life,  were 
in  a  very  imperfect  state,  during  the  age  of  the  patri- 
archs. Jubal  Avas  the  father  of  such  as  handle  the 
harp  and  the  organ.  The  tabret  and  liarp  are  also 
mentioned.     These  instruments  of  music  were  doubt- 


INTRODUCTION.  99 

less  rudely  constructed;  but  their  existence  shows 
that  men  were  then  not  very  unhke  what  they  are 
now.  Of  course  the  mechanic  art  of  constructing 
these  instruments,  as  well  as  the  fine  art  of  playing 
on  them,  must  have  been  known  at  that  time.  iv.  21  ; 
xxxi.  27. 

165.  Tubal-cain  was  instructor  of  every  artificer  in 
brass  and  iron ;  and  though  allusions  to  instruments 
of  brass  and  iron  are  not  numerous,  there  are  enough 
such  to  show  their  existence.  The  knife  and  the 
sword  must  have  been  made  of  one  of  these  metals. 
The  manufacture  of  cloth  must  have  been  known,  as 
references  to  the  wool  of  their  flocks,  would  indicate. 
Sackcloth  may  have  been  of  this  material,  though  of 
this  there  is  no  certainty.  In  Egypt  fine  linen  is  men- 
tioned. Frequent  references  to  gold  and  silver  orna- 
ments, indicate  some  knowledge  of  the  art  of  refining 
silver  and  gold,  and  working  them  into  such  forms  as 
are  fitted  to  please  the  fancy.  It  is  quite  probable, 
however,  that  the  gold  and  silver  ornameijts,  mention- 
ed in  connection  with  the  patriarchs  and  their  families, 
were  obtained  from  Egypt ;  as  no  mention  is  made 
of  these  things  till  Abraham  had  visited  that  country. 
Indeed,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  as  soon  as  Abraham 
returned  from  Egypt,  he  is  spoken  of  as  being  rich  in 
cattle,  in  gold  and  silver,  iv.  22  ;  xii.  42  ;  xliv.  2  ; 
xiii.  2. 

166.  The  implements  of  agriculture  were  undoubt- 
edly very  rude,  though  they  answered  all-  the  purposes 
of  practical  life  at  that  time.  The  fields  were  sowed^ 
it  is  said ;  and  of  course  they  must  have  been  plowed ; 
and  some  instrument  for  this  purpose  must  have  been 
in  use.  They  bound  sheaves  in  the  field ;  then  they 
mast  have  had  some  instrument  for  cutting  the  grain. 
We  read  of  the  threshing  floor  of  Atad  ;  then  Atad 
must  have  had  some  mode  of  threshing  his  grain, 
though  it  was  not  after  the  modern  fashion.  Bread, 
made  of  fine  meal,  was  an  article  of  food ;  of  course 


100  INTRODUCTION. 

there  was  some  method  of  grinding  the  grain.  We 
will  not  say  that  they  separated  the  flour  from  the 
bran,  as  they  probably  lived  on  Graham  principles, 
xxvi.  12;  xxxvii.  7  ;  1.  11 ;  xviii.  6. 

167.  As  early  as  the  days  of  Noah,  the  art  of  build- 
ing must  have  been  carried  to  a  great  degree  of  per- 
fection ;  else  how  could  the  ark  have  been  built 
and  fitted  to  carry  its  enormous  burden  over  the  tur- 
bulent abyss  of  waters.  All  the  instruction  given  to 
Xoali  by  the  Divine  Being  would  still  leave  many 
things,  it  is  presumed,  to  the  knowledge  and  skill  of 
the  architect.  The  making  of  tents  and  houses,  at  a 
later  day,  would  require  some  skill.  The  manufacture 
of  brick,  with  which  to  build  the  tower  of  Babel,  is 
another  instance  of  the  skill  of  those  primitive  times. 

168.  There  are  a  few  references  to  carriages.  Jo- 
seph rode  in  the  second  chariot  of  Egypt ;  and  there 
went  up  to  Canaan  Avith  him,  both  chariots  and  horse- 
men, at  the  burial  of  his  father.  Wagons  were  sent 
from  Egypt  to  Canaan,  to  bring  the  patriarch  and  his- 
family  down  to  that  country.  It  is  probable  that  both 
wagons  and  chariots  were  used  only  in  Egypt,  or  sel- 
dom elsewhere.  In  Canaan  burdens  were  carried 
upon  asses ;  and  men  and  women  rode  on  camels, 
xlvi.  29  ;  1.  9. 

SECTION  XX.— Weights  and  Measures. 

169.  Time  was  then  reckoned  by  days,  weeks, 
months,  and  years,  nearly  in  the  same  manner  as  with 
us.  Forty  days  and  forty  nights,  is  the  same  kind  of 
reckoning  then  as  now.  Months  are  mentioned  as 
made  up  of  days.  Hence  we  read  of  the  first  day  of 
the  month,  the  seventeenth  day  of  the  month,  and  the 
seventh  and  twentieth  day.  We  also  read  of  the  first 
month,  the  second  month,  and  the  seventh  month. 
By  comparing  vii.  11  with  viii.  4,  it  will  be  seen  that 
five  months  is  precisely  150  days,  which  make  one 


INTRODUCTION.  10) 

month  to  be  thirty  days.  A  similar  comparison  ofvii. 
11  and  viii.  13  ,will  show  that  a  Jewish  year  consisted 
of  twelve  months,     vii.  4:,  11  ;  viii.  13,  14;  viii.  4. 

170.  The  seasons  of  the  year  were  the  same  as 
with  us,  only  that  summer  and  winter  are  the  only 
names  by  which  they  were  designated,  unless  seed 
time  and  harvest  be  intended  as  denoting  spring  and 
autumn,     viii.  22. 

Length,  in  respect  to  short  distances,  was  reckoned 
in  cubits  ;  long  distances  by  the  number  of  days  jour- 
ney. A ''bow  shot'' is  employed  to  denote  a  brief 
space  over  which  an  arrow  might  be  sped.  vi.  15  ; 
xxxi.  23 ;  xxi.  16. 

The  points  of  the  compass  are  named ;  but  a  care- 
ful observation  will  show  that  they  are  used  with 
great  indefiniteness.  A  place  laying  in  a  northerly 
direction  was  said  to  be  north,  though  it  might  lay 
far  east  or  west  ot  that  point.  So  of  the  other  points. 
This  makes  it  quite  difficult  to  determine  with  accu- 
racy the  location  or  direction  of  places,  xiii.  14; 
xxviii.  14. 

The  word  "  measure  "  has  reference  to  a  vessel  of 
a  certain  capacity.  Hence  "  three  measures  of  meal," 
were  not,  as  we  might  infer  from  our  use  of  that  term 
meal  in  three  separate  vessels ;  but  it  was  a  certain 
amount  three  times  repeated,     xviii.  6. 

Isaac  sowed  his  field,  and  received  that  year  a 
"  hundred  fold ; "  that  is,  an  hundred  times  as  much 
as  he  sowed,  which,  though  a  great  yield,  was  not  un- 
usual in  that  country,     xxvi.  12. 

Money  was  sometimes  reckoned  by  pieces,  and 
sometimes  by  shekels,  or  by  weight.  There  were 
shekels  of  silver  and  shekels  of  gold,  xxxiii.  19  :  xxiii. 
15  ;  xliii.  21 ;  xlv.   22. 


102  INTRODUCTION. 

SECTION  XXI. —  Religion  of  the  Hebrews. 

4 

171.  It  is  obvious  that  the  Hebrews  recognized 
but  one  supreme  Divinity,  to  whom  a  good  and  virtu- 
ous life  was  the  most  acceptable  service.  They 
prayed  to  him  in  times  of  need.  They  built  altars 
and  offered  sacrifices  thereon.  It  is  remarkable  that 
no  mention  is  made  of  priests  in  connection  with  the 
patriarchs.  Melchisedek  was  a  priest  of  the  most 
High  God ;  but  to  what  race  he  belonged  does  not 
appear,  from  the  narrative;  and  the  apostle  Paul,  refer- 
ring to  this  personage,  speaks  of  him  as  being  '^  with- 
out father  or  mother,"  &c.,  meaning  thereby,  that  we 
have  no  account  of  his  parentage,  his  history,  or  his 
death.  The  patriarchs  themselves  offered  sacrifices 
and  officiated  at  the  altar.  This  was  done  by  Abel, 
Noah,  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob.  There  were  priests 
in  Egypt,  who  owned  some  real  estate,  and  were  sup- 
ported, when  occasion  required,  out  of  the  public 
treasury,  iv.  3,  4 ;  viii.  20  ;  xii.  8  ;  xxvi.  25  ;  xxviii. 
18;  xxxi.  51;  xlvii.  22. 

172.  ''  Men  began  to  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord," 
even  before  the  flood  —  language  that  seems  to  imply 
at  that  time,  some  arrangement  for  the  maintenance 
of  public  worship.  Paying  tithes  is  mentioned  once 
or  twice.  Abraham  paid  the  tenth  of  the  spoils  he 
had  obtained  in  battle,  to  Melchisedek.  Jacob  prom- 
ised to  pay  to  the  Lord  the  tenth  of  all  he  had,  if  he 
should  be  prospered  in  his  way.  The  animals  offered 
in  sacrifice,  were  the  heifer,  she  goat,  ram,  turtle  dove 
and  pigeon.  Pouring  oil  on  the  top  of  a  pillar,  was 
understood,  no  doubt,  as  a  rehgious  offering,  xiv.  20; 
xxviii.  22;  xv.  9;  xxviii.  18  ;  xxxv.  11. 

173.  The  worship  of  images  is  alluded  to  in  con- 
nection with  the  family  of  Laban.  The  earrings  of 
which  we  read  in  connection  with  these  images,  were 
appendages  to  the  same  worship,  and  not  the  usual 
ornaments   worn   by   damsels.      Abraham   planted   a 


INTRODUCTION.  103 

grove  in  Beersheba,  where  the  worship  of  God  was 
observed.  At  a  later  day  such  groves  became  very 
obnoxious,  as  places  where  idol  worship,  accompanied 
by  obscene  and  immoral  rites,  was  practiced.  The 
rite  of  circumcision  was  instituted  as  a  perpetual  me- 
morial of  religious  obligation,  xxxi.  19 ;  xxxv.  4 ; 
XXIV.  30,  47 ;  xvii.  10 ;  xxi.  33. 


CHAPTER  lY. 


GEOGRAPHY. 


Contents : —  General  Divisions  ;  Mountains  ;  Valleys  and  Plains  ; 
Rivers  ;  Groves  and  Wildernesses  ;  Seas ;  Cities  ;  National  De- 
signations. 

SECTION  I.  — General  Divisions. 

174.  Canaan  is  often  alluded  to  as  the  residence  of 
the  patriarchs,  and  the  country  that  was  to  be  the 
everlasting  possession  of  their  descendants.  The 
boundaries  are  defined  in  a  general  way  in  x.  19,  from 
Avhich  it  appears  that  Sidon,  Gerar,  Gaza,  Sodom,  Go- 
morrah, Admah,  Zeboim,  and  Lasha,  lay  on  the  outer 
borders  around  it. 

175.  When  Abram  came  to  Canaan  he  came  from 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees.  Chaldea  is,  therefore,  another 
country  alluded  to  in  the  book.  Assyria,  that  lay  in 
the  same  general  direction,  is  referred  to  ;  and  as  that 
name  seems  to  have  been  given  to  the  country  by 
Asshur,  the  cities  he  built  were  probably  in  that 
country,     xi.  31  ;  xxv.  18  ;  x.  11,  12. 

176.  Laban,  into  whose  family  Jacob  married,  is 
called  a  Syrian.  Thus,  by  implication,  Syria  is  refer- 
red to.  The  same  country  is  called  Mesopotamia  and 
Padan  Aram,     xxviii.  5  ;  xxi  v.  10  ;  xxviii.  2. 

^It.  Seir  was  an  extensive  region,  as  is  evident 
from  what  is  said  of  it  and  the  cities  it  contained.     It 


lOi  INTRODUCTION. 

was  also  called  Edom.  xxxvi.  The  land  of  the  Philis- 
tines is  referred  to  ;  but  no  name  is  given  to  it, 
though  it  is  thought  to  have  originated  the  name  of 
Palestine.  It  was  included  in  the  gift  to  the  seed  of 
Abraham,  as  a  part  of  their  everlasting  possession, 
xxi.  32  ;  xxvi.  3. 

177.  Egypt  is  too  often  referred  to,  to  require  par- 
ticular description.  It  embraced  the  land  of  Goshen 
or  Rameses ;  and  one  of  its  principle  cities,  viz.,  On, 
is  once  or  twice  named.  The  '^  river  "  often  alluded 
to  in  connection  with  Egypt,  though  not  named,  is 
understood  to  be  the  Nile.  The  '^  river  of  Egypt" 
may  be  the  same,  and  it  may  not.  xlvii.  6,  11 ;  xli. 
50 ;  xli.  1 ;  xv.  18. 

SECTION  II.— Mountains. 

178.  The  first  mountain  named  in  the  Bible  is  Mt. 
Ararat  where  the  ark  of  Noah  rested.  Mesha  and 
Sephar  are  mentioned  in  connection  with  a  mountain 
of  the  East ;  but  the  passage  is  equivocal ;  and  we 
cannot  tell  which  of  those  names  was  intended  to 
designate  the  mountain  referred  to ;  and  perhaps  the 
reference  is  to  a  mountain  between  the  two.  There 
is  a  reference  to  "  a  mountain  on  the  east  cf  Bethel," 
but  its  name  is  not  given.  It  was  between  Bethel 
and  Hai.   viii.  4 ;  x.  30  ;  xii.  8. 

179.  There  was  a  mountain  in  the  land  of  Moriah, 
on  which  Abraham  offered  his  son  Isaac  in  sacrifice. 
It  is  called  the  ''  mountain  of  the  Lord."  We  com- 
monly refer  to  it  as  Mt.  Moriah,  but  it  is  not  so  called 
in  the  book.  It  was  in  the  land  of  Moriah.  xxii.  2, 
14. 

Mt.  Gilead  lay  in  the  direction  of  Syria,  and  is 
noted  as  being  the  place  where  an  interesting  confer- 
ence was  held  between  Laban  and  Jacob,  xxxi.  21, 
55.  Mt.  Seir  was  an  extensive  country  and  was  the 
possession  of  Esau  and  his  descendants.     It  was  also 


INTRODUCTION.  ^^^ 

railed  Edom.  It  was  called  Seir,  from  Seir  who  first 
governedThe  country,  and  Edom,  from  Esau,  whose 
name  was  also  Edom.     xxxvi. 

SECTION  III. —  Valleys  and  Plains. 
180  There  was  a  plain  in  the  land  of  Shinar  where 
Baberwas  built.  The^  plain  of  Jordan  is  Bovei^al  t^es 
mentioned.  It  was  a  very  fertile  region  of  country. 
^iTe  ;iarn  of  Mamre  was  where  Hebi^on  ^^^o^ 
and  was  the  principal  residence  of  the  patiidrcii^. 
life  val  ey  of  Shaveh  belonged  to  the  king  of  bodom, 
and  is  called  the  "  king's  dale.''  The  vale  of  .idc^^m 
was  where  Sodom  was  located,  and  was  ferwai  d. 
the  Salt  Sea.  The  valley  of  Gerar  was  not  far  ftom 
a  city  of  the  same  name  m  the  land  of  the  Phili.tmes. 
xi.  2 ;  xiii.  11,  18  ;  xiv.  8  ;  xiv.  3  ;  xxvi.  IT. 

SECTION  IV.— Rivers. 
181    Gihon,  Pison,  Hiddekel   and  Euphrates  are 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Eden.     The  last  named 
river  is  also    alluded   to    in   describing  the  eastern 
boundaries  of  the    Abrahamic    possessions.     '[  Kiver 
of  E^ypt"  is  mentioned  in  the  same  passage,  m  con- 
nectfon  with  the  western  boundary.     It  may  be  the 
Nile   or  it  mny  be  some   other  river  near  to  Egypt. 
The'ford  Jabbok  was  probably  a  ford  across  a  river 
of  the  same  name.     A  river  is  mentioned  as  being  m 
the  land  of  Edom,  on  which  Rehoboth  was   situated  ; 
but  the  name  is  not  given.     The  most  important  ot  all 
the  rivers  alluded  to  in  Genesis,  is  the  Jordan,  run- 
ning  along  the  eastern  border  of  Canaan,     n.  10-11: ; 
XV.  18  ;  xxxii.  22 ;  xxxvi.  37  ;  xiii.  10. 

SECTION  V. —  Groves  and  Wildernesses. 
182.  Abraham  planted  a  grove  in  Beersheba.     We 
also    read    of  the  wilderness  of  Beersheba    and  the 
wilderness  of  Paran.     xxi.  33 ;  xxi.  21. 
5* 


106  INTBODUCTION. 


SECTION  VI.  — Seas. 

183.  The  Salt  Sea  was  once  the  Yale  of  Siddim. 
The  sea  where  Sidoii  or  Zidon  was  located  is  not 
named,  but  it  is  evidently  the  Mediterranean.  xKx. 
13.    xiv.  3. 

Isles.  We  read  of  the  "  Isles  of  the  Gentiles  ;''  but 
YiQ  cannot  say  whether  there  is  an  allusion  to  islands, 
as  we  now  use  that  term,  or  to  some  other  tracts  of 
country,     x.  5. 

SECTION  VII.  —Cities  and  Towns. 

184.  A  careful  observation  of  passages  will  enable 
us  to  determine  with  considerable  accuracy,  the  loca- 
tion of  the  principal  cities  mentioned  in  the  book  of 
Genesis  ;  and  from  this  method  alone  we  may  easily 
obtain  more  information  concerning  the  Geography 
of  Palestine,  than  is  commonly  possessed  by  most 
readers  of  the  Bible.  We  shall  reach  our  object  best 
by  speaking  of  places  in  groups  ;  or  regarding  them 
from  certain  stand  points,  from  which  we  can  trace 
their  relations  with  each  other. 

185.  The  first  city  mentioned  in  the  Bible  is  the 
city  of  Enoch,  built  by  Cain,  and  named  after  his  son 
Enoch,  iv.  17.  Its  location  is  not  defined,  except 
that  it  is  spoken  of  as  east  of  Eden.  It  was  in  the  land 
of  Nod; — so  the  passage  seems  to  teach;  but  the 
word  Nod  means  "  vagabond,"  and  may  refer  to  Cain 
and  not  the  place  of  his  residence. 

186.  Babel,  ErecJi  Accad,  CahieJi.  Speaking  of 
Nimrod,  a  grandson  of  Ham,  it  is  said,  "  the  beginning 
of  his  kingdom  was  Babel,  and  Erech,and  Accad,  and 
Calneh,  in  the  land  of  Shinar."  x.  10.  It  will  be  re- 
membered that  Babel  was  the  place  where  men  atr 
tempted  to  build  a  tower  that  should  reacli  to  heaven 
and  where  their  language  was  confounded,  xi.  3-9. 
Nimrod  it  would  seem  was  the  principal  leader  in  this 


INTRODUCTION.  107 

attempt.  This  and  the  other  places,  mentioned  with 
it,  was  the  land  of  Shinar. 

187.  Nineveh^  BeJioboth,  Calah,  Eesen.  "  Out  of  that 
land  [Shinar]  went  forth  As^'lmr,  and  builcled  Nine- 
veh, and  the  city  of  Rehoboth,  and  Calali,  and  Eesen, 
between  Nineveh  and  Calah  ;  the  same  is  a  great  city." 
X.  11,  12.  It  is  generally  understood  that  Assyria 
took  its  name  from  Asshur  ;  and  of  course  Nineveh 
and  the  other  places  mentioned  with  it,  were  in  that 
country. 

188.*^  Sidon,  Gerar,  Gaza,  Sodom,  Gomorrah,  Ad- 
mah,  Zeboim,  Laslia.  The  border  of  the  Canaanites  — 
in  other  words,  the  boundary  of  Canaan,  is  thus  given  ; 
it  was  from  Sidon  as  thou  comestto  Gerar  unto  Gaza, 
as  thou  goest  unto  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  and  Admah 
and  Zeboim,  even  unto  Lasha.  x.  19.  These  places 
lay  at  various  points  around  Avliat  was  then  regarded 
as  the  land  of  the  Canaanites.  The  traveller,  com- 
mencing at  Sidon,  would  pass  by  Gerar  to  Gaza,  and 
thence  to  Sodom,  &c.  even  unto  Lasha ;  and  from 
Lasha  [it  is  implied]  he  would  come  again  to  Sidon, 
^^  the  place  of  first  beginning." 

189.  The  location  of  these  places,  we  can  deter- 
mine, with  considerable  certainty,  both  by  direct 
statement,  and  by  reasonable  inference.  Let  us  see. 
The  location  of  Sidon  seems  to  be  settled  within  cer- 
tain limits,  by  the  folloAving  passage  ;  —  '^  Zebulon 
shall  dwell  at  the  haven  of  the  sea ;  and  he  shall  be  a 
haven  for  ships  ;  and  his  border  shall  be  unto  Zidon." 
xhx.  13.  The  inference  is  that  Zidon  [or  Sidon]  was 
on  the  sea  coast.  Of  course  the  Mediterranean  sea  is 
had  in  view,  as  no  other  is  known  to  border  on  Canaan 
that  can  at  all  answer  the  description  here  given. 
This  is  one  point  gained,  as  to  one  of  the  places  by 
which  Canaan  was  bounded. 

190.  Gerar  is  another  of  the  places  named  in  the 
boundary.  The  location  of  this  may  be  determined 
by  several  references.     It  was  "  in  the  south  country, 


108  INTRODUCTION. 

and  between  Kadesh  and  Shiir ;"  xx.  1 ;  and  the  latter 
place  is  said  to  be  "  before  Egypt."  xxv.  18.  Now 
as  Egypt  was  in  a  south-west  direction  from  Canaan, 
it  follows  tliat  Kadesh,  Gerar  and  Shurwere  near  the 
south-west  corner  of  that  country.  This  settles  the 
location  of  Gerar,  the  second  point  in  the  boundary 
line.  Sidon,  before  mentioned,  to  ansAver  the  descrip- 
tion, must  be  placed  on  the  Mediterranean,  in  the 
north-west  corner  of  Canaan.  And  as  the  boundary 
line  is  made  to  commence  there,  and  proceed  to 
Gerar  at  the  south,  we  are  prepared  to  infer  the  loca- 
tion of  the  next  places  named  on  the  line. 

191.  We  infer  that  Gaza  lay  east  of  Gerar,  in  the 
direction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  Admah  and  Zebo- 
im  ;  and  that  the  latter  places  were  on  the  east  border 
of  the  country.     This  inference  we  find  to  be  correct. 

It  is  said  "  the  plain  of  the  Jordan,  was  well  watered 
d:c.,  before  the  Lord  destroyed  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah." xiii.  10.  Abraham  dwelled  in  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, and  Lot  dwelled  in  the  cities  of  the  plain,  and 
pitched  his  tent  toward  Sodom,  xiii.  12.  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  then,  were  on  the  Jordan,  which  we 
know  ran  on  the  east  line  of  Palestine.  Admah  and 
Zeboim  were  doubtless  near  by,  as  they  are  not  only 
mentioned  in  connection  with  Sodom  and  Gomorrah, 
in  the  boundary  line,  but  also  in  the  battle  of  the 
kings,  xiv.  8.  It  cannot  be  doubted,  then,  that  La- 
sha,  the  only  remaining  place  in  this  boundary,  was 
in  the  northeast  corner  of  Canaan,  opposite  to  Sidon, 
the  place  of  beginning. 

Notwithstanding  the  indirect  way  we  arrive  at  the 
result,  we  feel  almost  as  sure  of  its  accuracy,  as  if  we 
had  visited  those  places.  And  having  determined 
these  principal  points,  we  are  better  prepared  to  seek 
for  others  by  the  guidance  of  tliese.  We  can  make 
no  use  of  Sidon  to  determine  the  location  of  other 
places,  as  that  place  is  not  mentioned,  except  in  the 
instances  already  quoted.     The  same  is  true  of  Gaza 


INTRODUCTION.  109 

and  Lasha.     Not  so  of  Gerar  ;  nor  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah. 

192.  Gerar  J  KadesJi,  Shur,  Zoar,Mamre  or  Hebron, 
Gerar,  we  have  seen,  was  ^^  in  the  south  country," 
and  "  between  Kadesh  and  Shur.''  Isaac  Avent  doAvn 
to  that  country,  apparently  with  the  intention  of 
going  on  to  Egypt ;  but  was  divinely  admonished  to 
remain  in  Gerar.  Gerar  was  a  city  of  the  Philistines, 
and  the  capital  of  that  country.  There  was  a  valley 
of  the  same  name  not  far  off.  Of  course  Kadesh  and 
Shur  were  not  far  from  Gerar.  The  one  place  locates 
the  others,   xxv.  18 ;  xxvi.  1,  6,  17. 

We  read  of  "  Bela  which  is  Zoar,"  and  as  Lot  fled 
to  Zoar,  when  he  left  Sodom,  it  was  evidently  near 
that  city.  It  was  a  small  place,  xiv.  2 ;  xix.  22,  23  ; 
xix.  20. 

193.  Abraham  dwelt  in  the  plain  of  Mamre,  when 
the  angels  came  and  announced  the  destruction- of 
Sodom.  It  is  obvious  from  the  circumstances  that 
Mamre  and  Sodom  were  not  very  far  apart.  Abraham 
could  see  the  smoke  of  the  country,  after  its  destruc- 
tion. Mamre,  however,  was  not  very  near  to  Sodom, 
as  it  appears  that  Abraham  and  Lot  had  separated 
thus  far,  to  avoid  collisions  between  their  respective 
herdsmen.  Neither  was  it  so  near  that  Abraham 
could  know  of  Lot's  captivity,  till  a  messenger  in- 
formed him.  We  will  learn  more  of  Mamre,  [which, 
it  will  be  remembered,  is  the  same  as  Hebron,]  in 
connection  with  other  places,  xix.  28  ;  xiv.  13 ;  xiii. 
12. 

194.  Shinar,  Mlassar,  Blam,  Sodom,  Gomorrah, 
Admali,  Zehoim,  Zoar,  Ashteroth-Karnaim,  Ham,  Sha- 
veh-Kiriathaim,  Mt.  Seir,  Elparo^n,  Vale  of  Siddim, 
Kadesh,  Hazezon-tamer.  The  kings  of  the  first  three 
places  named,  and  one  king  whose  place  is  not  named, 
making  four  in  all,  make  war  with  the  kings  of 
Sodom,  Gomorrah,  Admah,  Zeboim,  and  Zoar.  They 
fought  in  the  vale   of  Siddim,  afterwards   called  the 


110  INTRODUCTION. 

"  salt  sea/'  meaning  the  same  as  the  Dead  sea.  Prior 
to  this  celebrated  battle,  they  had  conquered  all  the 
other  places  mentioned  in  this  list ;  and  in  this  battle, 
too,  they  were  successful,  carrying  away  much  spoil, 
and  many  captives,  (including  Lot  and  his  family.) 
They  extended  their  conquests  as  far  as  Kadesh, 
which,  as  we  have  seen,  was  not  far  distant  from 
Egypt.  The  location  of  the  other  places  is  quite 
uncertain,  though  some  other  passages  will  be  quoted, 
by  and  by,  with  reference  to  some  of  them,  that 
will  enable  us  to  approximate  to  the  truth. 

195.  Ashteroth-Karnaim  is  not  located  by  any  cir- 
cumstance in  the  narrative,  nor  by  any  parallel  passa- 
ges in  Genesis.  Ham  may  have  been  named  after  the 
son  of  Noah,  as  we  know^  that  many  of  Ham's  de- 
scendants settled  in  Canaan ;  and  it  is  quite  natural 
that  they  should  name  some  place  after  him,  but  its 
location  is  not  given.  ^Jt.  Seir  has  already  been 
spoken  of,  and  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  it 
again.  Hazezon-tamer  appears  to  have  been  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Amorites  and  perhaps  the  Amalekites  ; 
but  its  location  does  not  appear.  Mamre,  after  whom 
the  plain  of  Mamre  was  named,  was  an  Amorite,  and 
it  is  reasonable  to  presume  that  the  residence  of  that 
tribe  was  not  far  from  Mamre;  and  this  places  their 
residence  in  the  direction  of  Kadesh,  spoken  of  with 
it.  Elparan  was  by  the  wilderness,  perhaps  the  wil- 
derness of  Paran,  and  this,  too,  lay  in  the  same  direc- 
tion towards  Kadesh.     xiv.  1-10. 

196.  Dan^  Hohoh,  Damascus,  Salem,  Valley  of  Sha- 
veh,  Abraham,  hearing  that  Lot  had  been  taken  cap- 
tive and  carried  away,  took  his  trained  servants,  and 
his  confederates,  Mamre,  Eschol,  and  Aner,  and  pur- 
sued them  unto  Dan.  He  then  attacked  them  and 
pursued  them  to  Hobah,  on  the  left  hand  of  Damas- 
cus. These  places,  therefore,  were  all  north  of  Ca- 
naan, and  on  the  way  to  Shinar,  and  the  other  places 
to  which  these  kings  belonged  and  to  which  they 


INTRODUCTION.  Ill 

were  returning.  On  his  return,  Abraham  was  met  by 
Melchisedek,  king  of  Salem,  an  evidence  that  Salem 
was  between  Mamre  and  the  other  places  just  named  ; 
at  least  it  was  north  of  Mamre,  as  Abraham  was  on 
his  way  home  toward  the  south.  It  is  thought  that 
this  Salem,  was  the  same  as  Jerusalem,  so  distin- 
guished afterwards  as  the  chief  city  of  Judea. 

197.  The  king  of  Sodom,  too,  went  out  to  meet 
Abraham  at  the  valley  of  Shaveh,  which  locates  this 
place  also  in  the  same  general  direction  as  Salem. 
Besides,  this  valley  was  the  "  king's  dale,''  or  valley, 
and  must  have  been  near  to  Sodom.  Furthermore, 
the  spoils  were  there  divided,  Abraham's  confederates 
taking  their  share,  and  the  king  taking  the  rest,  Abra- 
ham himself  declining  to  receive  any.  Place  this  val- 
ley a  little  north  and  west  of  Sodom  and  we  have  the 
proper  location  to  suit  the  circumstances.  Was  not 
this  Shaveh,  the  same  as  Shaveh-Kiriathaim,  men- 
tioned in  the  same  account  as  being  taken  by  the 
northern  kings  ?  The  resemblance  in  the  name  would 
make  this  probable  ;  for  we  shall  have  occasion  to 
see  that  double  names  are  often  abridged,  xiv.  14- 
18. 

198.  Ur,  Haran,  Moreli,  Bethel ,  Hai,  Hebron ^  Laliai- 
roi,  Gerar,  Beersheba.  We  will  now  take  the  patri- 
arch Abraham  as  our  guide,  and  follow  him,  and  note 
the  places  he  passes  through,  and  the  place  of  his 
residence.  The  first  mention  of  Abraham  is  in  con- 
nection with  Ur  of  the  Chaldees.  Leaving  this 
place  with  Terah,  his  father,  and  with  Lot,  his  nephew, 
he  is  next  seen  in  Haran,  a  place  obviously  taking  its 
name  from  a  brother  of  Abram,  who  had  recently 
died  in  Ur.  Of  course  Haran  lay  in  the  direction  of 
Canaan,  as  Abram  was  on  his  way  to  that  country. 
We  shall  find  the  same  place  mentioned  in  another 
passage,  as  the  retreat  of  Jacob  when  he  left  home  to 
escape  the  wrath  of  Esau.  How  natural  that  he 
should  go  to  the  former  residence  of  his  grandfather, 
where  some  of  his  relatives  still  resided. 


112  INTRODUCTION. 

199-  Soon  alter  this,  Abram  starts  for  the  land  of 
Canaan,  and  comes  into  that  country.  He  came  to 
Sichem  unto  the  plain  of  Moreh.  Soon  thereafter  he 
removed  to  a  mountain  on  the  east  of  Bethel,  having 
Bethel  on  the  west,  and  Hai  on  the  east.  This  places 
Abraham's  residence  on  the  mountain.  Bethel,  and 
Hai,  on  an  east  and  west  line.  But  farther  than  this, 
their  location  does  not  appear,      xii.  5,  6. 

It  is  added  that  ^' Abram  journeyed,  going  on  still 
toicard  the  southJ'  This  settles  the  point  of  his  orig- 
inal residence.  It  was  north  of  Palestine.  Ur  was 
far  north  ;  Haran  not  so  far.  Sichem,  and  the  plain 
of  Moreh,  in  Palestine,  were  north  of  Bethel  and  Hai. 
All  these  things  are  thus  rendered  certain,     xii.  9. 

200.  After  making  a  journey  to  Egypt,  Abram  re- 
turns to  Bethel,  and  to  his  place  between  Bethel  and 
Hai.  xiii.  3.  At  this  time  Abram  and  Lot  separated, 
to  avoid  unpleasant  collisions  between  their  respective 
herdsmen  ;  and  as  Lot  chose  the  plain  of  the  Jordan, 
near  Sodom  ;  and  as  that  was  the  eastern  boundary 
of  Canaan,  the  inference  is,  that  Abram  resided  west 
of  Sodom,  though  not  very  far  off,  as  we  have  before 
seen.  Besides,  it  is  expressly  said  of  Lot,  when  he 
separated  from  Abram,  that  he  went  east.  xiii.  11. 
Abram's  next  residence  is  in  the  plain  of  Mamre, 
which  is  Hebron.  Mamre,  in  whose  plain  was  Hebron 
was  one  of  Abram's  confederates,  and  one  of  those 
who  went  with  liim  in  pursuit  of  the  kings  that  had 
carried  away  Lot.  Hebron  was  also  called  Kirjeth- 
arba.  It  was  here  that  Sarah  died,  and  near  here  was 
the  cave  of  Machpelah,  the  place  where  she  was 
buried. 

Hebron,  in  Mamre,  was  a  long  time  the  abode  of  the 
patriarchs.  Abram  dwelt  there,  so  did  Isaac  ;  and  to 
the  same  place  Jacob  returned,  Avhen  he  came  back 
from  Padan-aram.  Abram  died  in  Hebron  and  was 
buried  in  Machpelah.  xiii.  18 ;  xiv.  13,  24 ;  xxiii.  2, 
17  ;  xxxv.  27  ;  xxv.  8  ,9. 


INTKODUCTION.  113 

201.  Isaac  had  his  abode  near  the  well  Lahai-roi, 
which  must  have  been  near  Hebron.  Afterwards,  on 
account  of  a  famine  in  the  land,  he  went  down  to  the 
country  of  the  Phihstines,  and  dwelt  in  Gerar.  He 
afterwards  went  from  there  to  Beersheba  ;  and  it  was 
here  that  the  unhappy  conflict  between  Jacob  and 
Esau  occurred ;  and  it  was  from  this  place  that  Jacob 
was  sent  away,  to  avoid  the  vengeance  of  his  brother, 
xxiv.  62 ;  xxv.  11  ;  xxvi.  6,  23 ;  xxviii.  10. 

202.  Padan-aram,  Haran,  Bethel,  Mt.  Gilead,  Maha- 
iiaim,  Seir,  Jabbok,  Peniel,  Succoth,  Shalem,  U^hrath, 
Arbah  or  Hebron.  We  will  now  take  another  guide. 
We  will  follow^  Jacob  on  his  excursion  to  the  north. 
He  was  instructed  to  go  to  his  uncle  Laban  at  Padan- 
aram.  This  same  Laban  is  called  a  Syrian.  Padan- 
aram,  then  was  Syria.  The  original  of  Syria  is  Ara- 
mea,  which  can  at  once  be  seen  to  have  been  derived 
from  the  last  half  of  Padan-aram.  xxviii.  5.  Notice 
another  circumstance.  When  Jacob  left  Beersheba, 
it  is  said  he  started  for  Haran,  and  when  he  arrived 
there  he  inquired  of  the  men  of  Haran,  whether  they 
knew  Laban,  and  was  told  that  they  did.  This  makes 
Haran,  too,  to  be  in  Syria.  Chaldea,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered, was  still  further  north,  as  Abram  came  from 
that  country  to  Haran,  on  his  way  to  Canaan,  xxviii. 
10  ;  xxix.  4,  5. 

203.  On  his  way  to  Haran  from  Beersheba,  Jacob 
stopped  over  night  at  a  place  which  he  called  Bethel, 
from  a  vision  he  had  there.  It  was  before  called  Luz. 
He  visited  the  same  place  on  his  return  from  Haran. 
xxviii.  19  ;  xxxv.  1.  It  may  be  recollected  that  this 
is  mentioned  in  connection  with  Abraham,  and  called 
Bethel,  though  at  that  time,  it  had  not  received  this 
name.  The  writer  gives  the  modern  name,  and  not 
the  ancient  one,  a  not  uncommon  occurrence  in  the 
Bible,  as  well  as  in  other  books.  From  Bethel  Jacob 
went  on  his  journey,  and  came  into  "  the  country  of 
the  people  of  the  east." 


114  INTRODUCTIO.N. 

The  residence  of  Laban  was  evidently  in  a  north- 
east direction  from  Canaan,  and  hence  it  is  regarded 
as  both  north  and  east.    xxix.  1. 

204.  As  we  are  in  search  of  places  merely,  and  not 
transactions,  we  will  pass  over  the  experience  of 
Jacob  Avith  Laban,  and  commence  with  his  return  from 
that  country ;  which,  as  he  moves  slowly  with  his 
family,  his'flocks  and  herds,  will  naturally  bring  before 
us  a  number  of  places.  It  is  quite  probable,  too,  that 
he  did  not  take  the  same  route  as  when  he  came,  since 
he  seems  to  have  wished  to  evade  pursuit.  At  all 
events  we  first  find  him,  on  his  return  route,  at  Mt. 
Gilead,  where  Laban  after  a  seven  days'  journey,  had 
overtaken  him.  There,  after  some  angry  altercation, 
they  entered  into  a  solemn  compact,  set  up  a  pillar  of 
stones,  as  a  memento  thereof;  and  at  length  separated 
for  their  respective  destinations.  Laban  called  the 
place  Jegar-sahadutha ;  but  Jacob  called  it  Galeed,  or 
Gilead.     He  also  named  it  Mizpah.     xxxi.  47,  49. 

205.  The  next  place  is  caUed  Mahanaim,  on  account 
of  a  vision  of  angels  he  saw  there.  It  may  be  added 
here,  that  names  given,  like  this,  to  celebrate  some 
passing  event  or  circumstance,  were  not  always  per- 
manent, though  they  sometimes  appear  to  have  been 
so.  Here  it  is  said  that  Jacob  sent  messengers  before 
him  to  Esau,  his  brother,  unto  the  land  of  Seir,  the 
country  of  Edom.  It  follows,  then,  that  Seir  or  Edom 
lay  between  him  and  Canaan.  It  will  be  recollected 
tliat  Mt.  Seir  is  mentioned  among  the  conquests  of  the 
kings,  whose  visit  to  Sodom  has  before  been  spoken 
of.  This  is  very  natural,  for  it  lay  right  on  their 
route,  xxxii.  2,  3  ;  xiv.  6.  Still  farther  along,  Jacob 
passed  over  the  ford  Jabbok,  and  near  that  place  he 
wrestled  with  the  angel,  and  called  the  place  Peniel  or 
Penuel.  After  the  interview  with  Esau,  Jacob  jour- 
neyed to  Succoth.  He  then  came  to  Shalem,  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  and  pitched  his  tent  before  the  city, 
and  there  erected  an  altar  which  he   called  El-elohe- 


INTRODUCTION.  115 

Israel.  From  this  place  he  goes  again  to  Bethel, 
where  he  had  a  vision  on  his  way  to  Haran.  From 
Bethel  he  goes  a  little  way  to  Ephrath,  where  his  fa- 
vorite wife  Eachel  is  taken  from  him  and  where  she  is 
buried.  Ephrath  is  described  as  the  same  as  Bethle- 
hem. Jacob,  or  Israel,  as  he  is  now  called,  journeyed 
and  pitched  his  tent  beyond  the  tower  of  Edar  ;  and 
at  last  he  came  back  to  his  father,  now  in  Hebron, 
though,  wlien  Jacob  left,  he  was  in  Beersheba.  xxxii. 
31  ;  xxxiii.  17,  18 ;  xxxv.  19,  21,  27. 

206.  The  flight  of  Jacob  has  given  us  an  interest- 
ing line  of  travel,  from  Syria,  northeast  of  Canaan, 
to  the  patriarchal  home  in  Hebron.  The  places  that 
lie  along  this  route,  beginning  at  the  north,  are 
Haran,  in  Syria,  Mt.  Gilead,  Mt.  Seir  or  Edom,  the 
ford  Jabbok,  Succoth,  Shalem,  Bethel,  Ephrath  or 
Bethlehem,  tower  of  Edar,  and  finally  Mamre  or 
Hebron.  Succoth  and  all  the  preceding  places  lay 
beyond  the  line  of  Canaan;  the  others  in  that  country. 
That  the  route  here  spoken  of  was  quite  meandering, 
is  obvious.  Jacob  probably  went  out  of  his  way  to 
visit  his  brother  at  Mt.  Seir.  He  had  to  leave  his 
return  route  too,  when  he  visited  Bethel,  though  his 
route  to  Syria  was  through  that  place. 

207.  GeraVj  Kadesh^  Shur,  Beersheba,  Valley  of  Gerar. 
The  intercourse  that  the  patriarchs  held  with  the 
Philistines,  will  help  us  to  locate  some  of  the  places 
mentioned  in  Genesis.  Gerar  was  a  city  of  the  Phil- 
istines, and  the  residence  of  the  king.  It  was  near  to 
Egypt  and  between  Kadesh  and  Shur.  Add  to  this, 
that  the  wilderness  in  the  way  to  Shur,  is  the  place 
where  Hagar  wandered  when  she  left  the  home  of 
her  mistress,  the  first  time.  And  as  Shur  was  near 
Egypt,  the  wilderness  must  have  been  in  that  direc- 
tion. Was  not  Hagar  seeking  her  former  home  in 
Egypt?    xvi.  7;  xxvi.  1. 

The  second  time  she  left,  with  Ishmael,  her  son,  she 
was  found  in  the  wilderness  of  Beersheba.     Was  not 


116  INTRODUCTION. 

this  then  in  the  same  general  direction  ?  What  con- 
firms this  opinion,  is,  that  when  Isaac  left  the  valley 
of  Gerar,  he  went  up  to  Beersheba.  When  the  people 
of  those  days  went  to  Egypt,  or  towards  that  country, 
they  went  doivn.  When  they  returned  they  went  uj). 
Going  Irom  Gerar  iqj  to  Beersheba,  locates  the  latter 
place  in  the  direction  of  Hebron  from  Gerar.  Of 
course  Hagar  might  very  naturally  get  lost  in  that 
wilderness,  on  her  way  to  Egypt,     xxi.  14 ;  xxvi.  23. 

This  Beersheba  was  an  important  place.  Abram 
planted  a  grove  there  and  called  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord.  He  afterwards  dwelt  at  Beersheba  for  a  time. 
There  Abimelech,  king  of  the  Phihstines,  made  a  cov- 
enant with  Abraliam,  and  afterwards  with  Isaac.  In- 
deed, it  was  called  Beersheba  or,  icell  of  (lie  oath, 
because  there  a  controversy  concerning  a  well  had 
been  settled,  and  a  solemn  covenant  entered  into 
between  the  parties,  xxi.  33  ;  xxii.  19  ;  xxvi.  33.  At 
a  subsequent  period  Jacob  visited  Beersheba  on  his 
way  to  Egypt,  which  is  a  very  natural  occurrence,  as 
that  had  been  the  residence  of  his  father  and  grand- 
father. The  circumstance  shows  also  that  the  place 
was  in  the  direction  of  Egypt  as  we  had  before  con- 
jectured,    xlvi.  1. 

208.  Hebron,  Shechem,  Dothan,  lit.  GileacI,  On,  Go- 
slien,  Barneses.  The  history  of  Joseph  w^ill  help  us 
to  locate  some  of  the  places  alluded  to  in  Genesis. 
When  Joseph  had  his  dreams,  his  father  Jacob  resided 
at  the  old  paternal  mansion  in  Hebron;  and  he  sent 
Joseph  to  inquire  after  his  brothers  at  Shechem 
where  they  were  tending  their  flocks.  It  is  obvious 
then  that  Shechem  was  not  far  from  Hebron.  The 
place  was  probably  named  after  Shechem,  son  of 
Hamor,  who  is  mentioned  in  another  place,  xxxvii. 
13,  14;  xxxiii.  19. 

Joseph  does  not  find  his  brethren  at  Shechem,  and 
on  inquiring  he  proceeds  to  Dothan.  And  here  the 
plot  of  taking  his  life  was  formed,  which  resulted  in 


INTRODUCTION.  117 

selling  him  as  a  slave  to  the  Midianites,  or  what  is  the 
same,  the  Ishmaelites,  who  were  on  their  way  from 
Mt.  Gilead  to  Egypt,  carrying  thither  balm,  spicery 
and  myrrh,  xxxvii.  17,  25. 

All  this  confirms  our  previous  location  of  places. 
There  seems  to  have  been  a  well  known  route  from 
Egypt  to  Syria,  and  so  on  to  Chaldea.  Along  this 
route  lay  Grilead,  Succoth  and  sundry  other  places 
before  mentioned.  The  route  passed  near  enough  to 
Pothan  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  sons  of  Jacob, 
as  the  merchantmen  passed  with  their  camels.  In 
connection  with  Egypt,  mention  is  made  of  On,  of 
which  place  Potipherah  was  priest — of  Goshen  where 
the  sons  of  Jacob  resided  —  of  Rameses,  which  seems 
only  to  be  another  name  for  Goshen,  xli.  45  ;  xlv.  10; 
xlvii.  11. 

209.  BinJiahah,  Bosrah,  Temani,  Avith,  3Iasrekah, 
Rehohoth,  Fan.  All  these  places  were  in  Edom,  the 
residence  of  Esau,  the  location  of  which  has  before 
been  noticed,  xxxvi.  32-39. 

210.  HavilaJi,  Shur,  Mesha,  Sephar,  JeJiovali-jireh, 
Chezib,  Timnath,  Shiloh.  These  places  we  will  notice 
without  any  particular  stand-point  of  observation. 
The  Ishmaelites  are  said  to  have  their  residence  from 
Havilah  to  Shur.  The  latter  place  being  near  to 
Egypt,  Havilah  must  have  been  in  the  other  direction, 
on  the  Assyrian  route,  and  a  considerable  way  off,  as 
the  Ishmaelites  were  a  numerous  tribe.  Mesha  and 
Sephar  are  mentioned  in  defining  the  residence  of 
the  children  of  Jokshan,  one  of  the  descendants  of 
Shem.  Where  they  were,  we  cannot  say,  except  that 
they  are  said  to  be  in  the  east.  Jehovah-jireh  is  the 
place  where  Isaac  was  taken  for  sacrifice.  Chezib 
was  the  birthplace  of  Shelah,  one  of  the  sons  of 
Judah,  and  Timnath  is  where  Judah  went  to  shear  his 
sheep.  Shiloh,  we  understand  is  a  place  in  Canaan, 
and  not  as  commonly  regarded,  a  name  of  the  prom- 
ised Messiah,  xxv.  18;  x.  30  ;  xxii.  14;  xxxviii.  5, 
12 ;  xlix.  10. 


118  INTRODUCTION. 


SECTION  VIII.  — National  Designations. 

211.  It  seems  proper  to  note  the  national  design-a- 
tions,  in  connection  with  the  Geography  of  Pales- 
tine. 

Canaanites.  These  were  the  descendants  of  Canaan, 
son  of  Ham,  son  of  Noah.  And  as  most  of  the  people 
of  Palestine  were  the  children  of  Canaan,  therefore, 
that  land  was  called  after  his  name.  The  term  Ca- 
naanite  is  sometimes  used  in  a  more  restricted  sense, 
and  denotes  the  people  of  a  city  or  district,  x.  15  ; 
XV.  21.  The  following  tribes  are  expressly  said  to  be 
descended  from  Canaan,  viz.,  Jebusite,  Amorite,  Gir- 
gasite,  Hivite,  Arkite,  Sinite,  Arvadite,  Zemarite,  Ham- 
athite.  Hetli^  too,  was  a  son  of  Canaan,  and  his  tribe 
is  called  Hittites.     x.  15-18. 

The  Rephaims,  Zuzims,  Emims,  Horites,  Amalekites 
and  Amorites  are  mentioned  as  being  conquered  in 
the  war  of  the  kings,  xiv.  4-7.  So  we  have  the 
Kenites,  Kenizzites,  Kadmonites,  Perizzites,  in  addi- 
tion to  the  above,  as  the  people  of  Canaan,  xv.  19, 
20.  The  surrounding  nations  are  sometimes  referred 
to.  Hence  we  read  of  the  Chaldees,  Syrians,  Egyp- 
tians. So  we  have  the  Edomites  or  Horites,  and  Ish- 
maelites. 

212.  Some  of  these  names  have  a  derivation  that  is 
obvious,  and  some  have  not.  The  Hittites  from  Heth, 
were  probably  at  first  called  Hethites,  which  was 
shortened  into  Hittites.  Horites  may  have  taken 
their  name  from  Hori,  son  of  Lotan,  son  of  Seir. 
xxxvi.  22.  Amalekites  from  Amalek,  grandson  of 
Esau,  xxxvi.  16.  Another  grandson,  Kenaz,  may 
have  originated  the  Kenizzites.  xxxvi.  15.  Edom- 
ites were  called  so  from  Edom,  one  of  the  names  of 
Esau  ;  and  Ishmaelites  from  Ishmael ;  and  Canaanites 
from  Canaan.  AduUamite  is  twice  mentioned,  xxxviii. 
1, 12. 


INTRODUCTION.  119 

CHAPTER  Y. 

CHRONOLOGY. 

Contents:  —  I>ates  from  the  Creation  to  the  Deluge  ;  Dates  from 
the  Deluge  to  Abraham ;  Dates  from  Abraham  to  the  death  of 
Joseph  ;  Remarks. 

213.  Chronology  treats  of  the  dates  of  important 
events.  In  the  present  chapter  we  shall,  of  course, 
speak  of  only  such  events  as  are  recorded  in  the  book 
of  Genesis.  Three  important  periods  are  compre- 
hended in  the  book.  The  first  of  these  is  from  the 
Creation  to  the  Flood  ;  the  second,  from  the  Flood  to 
the  patriarch  Abraham ;  and  the  last  extends  from 
Abraham  to  the  death  of  Joseph.  We  subjoin  a  chro- 
nological table,  having  reference  to  each  of  these 
periods. 


SECTION  I.— First  Period. 


214. 


From 

Adam  to  Seth,  was 

130 

years. 

Gen, 

.  V.    3. 

Seth  to  Enos, 

105 

(( 

n 

V.    6. 

Enos  to  Cainan, 

90 

« 

<( 

V.    9. 

Cainan  to  Mahalaleel, 

70 

(( 

(C 

V.  12. 

Mahalaleel  to  Jared, 

65 

(( 

a 

V.  15. 

Jared  to  Enoch, 

162 

« 

(< 

V.  18. 

Enoch  to  Methusaleh, 

65 

(( 

<( 

V.  21. 

Methusaleh  to  T;amech, 

187 

« 

(( 

V.  25. 

Lamech  to  Noah, 

182 

tt 

a 

V.  28. 

Noah  to  Shem, 

500 

it 

11 

V.  32. 

Shem  to  Flood, 

100 

it 

« 

vii.  6. 

Total  from  Adam  to  the  Flood,  1656 

215.  Remarks.  The  Septuagint  adds  one  hundre'd 
years  to  each  of  the  patriarchs,  Adam,  Seth,  Enos, 
Cainan,  Mahalaleel  and  Enoch,  before  the  birth  of  their 
sons,  while  it  takes  twenty  from  the  age  of  Methusa- 
leh and  adds  six  to  that  of  Lamech.  This  of  course 
lengthens  out  the  time  that  must  have  intervened 
between  the  Creation  and  the  Deluge,  and  makes  it  to 
have  been  2242  years,  instead  of  1656,  as  we  have 


120 


INTRODUCTION. 


given  it.  All  tlie  copies  of  the  Septiiagint  are  not, 
however,  precisely  alike  ;  the  Vatican  liaving  2242, 
as  given  above,  and  the  Alexandrine  2262.  So  too, 
the  Hebrew  Samaritan  text  differs  from  the  Jewish 
and  makes  the  period  only  1307. 

SECTION  II.— Second  Period. 

216.  From  the  Flood  to  Arphaxad,        2  years.     Gen.  xi.  10. 

<'  Arphaxad  to  Salah,  So'"  "  xi.  12. 

«  Salah  to  Eber,  30  "  "  xi.  14. 

«  Eber  to  Peleg,  34  "  "  xi.  16. 

"  Peleg  to  Rue,  30  "  "  xi.  18. 

«  Rue  to  Serug,  32  "  "  xi.  20. 

«  Serug  to  Nahor,  30  "  "  xi.  22. 

«  Nahor  «o  Terah,  29  "  "  xi.  24. 

"  Terah  to  Abram,  70  "  "  xi.  26. 

Total  from  the  Flood  to  Abram,  292     " 

217.  Bemarhs.  Instead  of  this  reckoning  the  Sa- 
maritan copy  makes  this  period  to  have  been  942 
years;  the  Vatican  1172;  the  Alexandrine  1072,  and 
Josephus  1002.  The  mode  of  reckoning  made  use  of 
by  the  ancient  Hebrews  was  such  as  would  very  easily 
lead  to  mistakes  in  copying;  for  they  made  use  of 
letters  instead  of  figures,  and  some  of  these  letters 
60  nearly  resembled  each  otha.r,  that  one  would  often 
be  mistaken  for  another,  and  would  be  so  written 
down  by  the  copyist.  This  would  of  course,  change 
the  reckoning.  Hence,  when  the  ancient  translations 
are  found  to  differ  from  our  Hebrew  copy  of  the  Bible, 
the  fact  is  best  accounted  for,  perhaps,  by  supposing 
that  the  Hebrew  Bible  they  translated  from  was  differ- 
ent from  ours,  the  difference  having  originated  in  the 
manner  here  indicated.  Still  some  variations  may 
have  arisen  since  the  translation  was  made. 


INTRODUCTION. 


121 


SECTION  III.— Third  Period. 


218.   From  Abram   to  Isaac, 
"       Isaac  to  Jacob, 


100  years. 
60  « 


Gen.   xxi.   5. 
"      XXV.  26. 
"  xli.46,47. 
'  "  xlv.  6. 
'  "  xlvii.9. 
"    1.  26. 


"      Jacob  to  Joseph,  probably,  91 

"       Joseph  to  his  death,  110 

Total  from  Abram  to  the  death  of  Joseph,  361 
Total  from  Creation  to  death  of  Joseph,    2309 


SECTION  IV. — Dates  of  the  Principal  Events  of  the 
Last  Period. 


219.  Abram  left  Haran  for  Canaan,  aged 
Age  of  Abram,  when  Ishmael  was  born, 
Age  of  Abram,  when  Isaac  was  born. 
Age  of  Ishmael,  when  circumcised. 
Age  of  Abraham,  when  circumcised, 
Age  of  Sarah,  when  Isaac  was  born, 
When  Sarah  died,  she  was 
When  Abraham  died,  he  was 
When  Ishmael  died,  he  was 
Isaac,  when  married,  was 
When  Jacob  was  born,  Isaac  was 
When  Esau  was  married,  he  was 
When  Isaac  died,  he  was 
Joseph,  when  promoted  in  Egypt,  was 
When  Jacob  went  to  Egypt,  he  was 
When  Jacob  died,  he  was 
When  Joseph  died,  he  was 

6 


1  75  years. 

86 

" 

100 

a 

13 

" 

99 

<( 

90 

« 

127 

« 

175 

.< 

137 

« 

40 

« 

60 

(< 

40 

(( 

180 

« 

30 

« 

130 

l( 

147 

(t 

110 

(I 

Gen.  xii.  4. 

"  xvi.  16. 

"  xxi.  5. 

"  xvii.  25 . 

"  xvii.  24* 

"  xvii.  17. 

"  xxiii.  1. 

"  XXV.  7. 

"  XXV.  17. 

"  XXV.  20. 

"  XXV.  26. 

"  xxvi.  34. 

"  XXXV.  28. 

«  xli.  46. 

"  xlvii-9. 

"  xlvii.  28. 

"  L26. 


PART  11. 
PHILOSOPHY  AND  THEOLOGY. 


CHAPTER  VI. 


EXISTENCE  OF  GOD. 

Contents  :  —  Preliminary  Topics  ;  The  World  not  Eternal ;  Crea- 
tion by  Natural  Causes,  considered ;  Necessity  of  a  Creator. 

Gen.  i.  1.    In  the  beginning  God  |  created  the  Heaven  and  the  Earth. 

220.  The  subject  for  this  chapter,  is  the  Existence  of 
God,  as  proved  by  the  creation  of  the  world  ;  and  this 
seems  a  fit  subject  with  which  to  introduce  the  Philosophy 
and  Theology  of  the  book  of  Genesis  ;  as  it  lies  at  the 
basis  of  all  true  Philosophy,  and  is  essential  to  the  exist- 
ence of  all  Theological  science,  and  is  the  first  thing  an- 
nounced in  the  "  Book  of  books. '^ 

SECTION  I.  — Preliminary  Topics. 

221.  (1.)  When  was  the  creative  work  performed? 
Assuming,  what  we  shall  hereafter  prove,  that  God  created 
the  world,  it  is  worthy  of  inquiry  when  the  work  was 
done.  "  In  the  beginning,"  is  the  only  answer  given  in 
the  record  ;  and  though  this  expression  is  quite  indefinite, 
the  subject  did  not  require  it  to  be  otherwise.  If  any  lim- 
itations or  qualifications  are  required,  they  may  be  derived 
from  what  follows.  The  six  days  or  periods  of  creation, 
are  the  "beginning"  referred  to.  The  condition  of  mat- 
ter farther  back  than  the  six  days,  is  not  touched  upon  by 
the  writer  of  this   book.     We  may  speculate  upon  that 


124  EXISTENCE   OF   GOD. 

subject,  but  we  can  decide  nothing  by  divine  authority. 
As  to  the  time  that  has  intervened  between  the  creation 
and  the  present,  dating  from  the  creation  of  man,  there 
are  no  facts  with  which  we  are  acquainted,  that  can  be 
urged  as  reliable  proofs  of  a  longer  period  than  the  one 
given  in  the  Bible,  which  is  understood  to  be  about  six 
thousand  years.  There  is  no  evidence  that  men  have 
lived  on  the  earth  longer  than  that  period.  Animals  and 
plants  have  existed  much  longer,  as  is  proven  by  their 
fossil  remains,  found  imbedded  in  the  solid  rocks  that 
compose  the  earth's  crust  —  rocks  that  must  have  required 
ages  to  form.  But  no  human  fossil  has  ever  been  found 
in  any  situation  indicating  a  longer  period  than  we  have 
supposed.  We  adhere  to  the  Bible  account,  and  must  be 
excused  for  adopting  no  other,  till  we  find  something 
better  sustained.  We  believe  this  account  may  be  safely 
adhered  to.  We  know  of  no  facts  that  conflict  with  it. 
AVe  believe  there  are  none.  True,  apparent  conflicts  do 
exist  ;  but  a  careful  examination  shows  them  to  be  only 
apparent. 

222.  It  is  well  known,  for  example,  that  the  Chinese 
and  Hindoos  have  laid  claim  to  a  greater  antiquity  than 
is  revealed  in  the  Bible.  So  have  the  Egyptians.  But 
those  who  are  best  qualified  to  judge  of  these  pretensions, 
assure  us  that  they  are  entirely  unfounded. 

223.  (2.)  What  are  we  to  understand  by  the  phrase 
"  heaven  and  earth."  We  understand  the  common  idea 
to  be,  that  this  phrase  was  intended  to  include  the  whole 
universe,  and  that  all  material  things  were  produced  at 
the  same  time.  The  earth,  sun,  moon  and  stars,  are  men- 
tioned, and  must  of  course  be  included  in  the  phrase. 
But  we  need  not  take  in  more  than  our  solar  system  to 
justify  this  language.  Less  than  this,  will  not  answer 
the  description  ;  more  than  this,  is  not  required.  There 
is,  besides,  good  natural  reasons  for  extending  the  crea- 
tive work  to  the  whole  of  our  system,  as  all  parts  are 
essentially  connected  ;  but  we  know  of  no  natural  reason 
for  a  larger  application. 

224.  It  is  true  that  the  solar  system  may  be  essentially 
connected  with  other  systems,  and  may  be  a  necessary 
part  of  the  great  universe.     We  believe  it  is.     But  it  may 


EXISTENCE   OF   GOD.  125 

have  no  office  to  perform  that  would  require  the  present 
order  and  arrangement  of  its  several  bodies. 

If  the  power  of  attraction,  for  example,  be  universal, 
the  solar  bodies  may,  by  that  law  alone,  be  essential  to 
the  stability  and  permanency  of  the  whole  universe.  But 
the  strength  of  this  power  is  not  lessened  or  increased  by 
placing  these  bodies  in  the  order,  and  subjecting  them 
to  the  motions,  that  now  belong  to  them.  The  same 
power  belongs  to  the  mass  of  matter  that  makes  up  the 
system  ;  whether  it  exists  in  one  body  or  in  thirty  ; 
whether  it  be  permanent  and  stationary,  or  arranged  into 
moving  forms. 

225.  Here  I  wish  to  suggest  an  idea,  to  be  thought  of 
in  connection  with  the  creation  of  this  world  out  of  nothing. 
All  matter  has  the  power  of  attraction.  There  was  a  time, 
when,  according  to  the  popular  theory,  the  matter  that 
makes  up  this  world,  did  not  exist.  What  then  must 
have  been  the  effect  upon  the  rest  of  the  universe, 
of  creating  this  world,  and  investing  it  with  such  tre- 
mendous power  ?  Would  it  not  have  disturbed  the 
balance  of  the  other  worlds  and  systems,  and  sent  dis- 
order and  destruction  throughout  the  whole  range  of 
creation  ?  Nothing  can  be  plainer  than  this  ;  and  hence 
it  is  well  to  suppose  all  worlds  to  be  created  at  one  and 
the  same  moment  ;  for  no  other  view  can  be  reconciled 
with  the  theory  of  creation  from  nothing.  So  one  error 
requires  another,  to  sustain  the  harmony  of  the  theory. 

226.  (3.)  What  was  the  condition  of  the  planets  be- 
fore they  assumed  their  present  form  ?  allowing  that  they 
existed  before,  which  we  assume  to  be  not  unphilosoph- 
ical.  We  do  not  ask  this  question,  because  it  is  practi- 
cally important  ;  but  because  it  maybe  made  to  teach  us 
a  lesson  that  is  practically  important. 

We  are  not  satisfied  to  trace  the  unformed  earth  back 
to  the  sun,  or  to  any  other  source.  There  is  a  tendency 
to  push  our  inquiries  still  farther.  Here,  however,  we 
have  no  certain  guide.  On  questions  of  this  nature  we 
can  only  conjecture.  It  is  not  unreasonable,  to  suppose 
that  other  worlds  and  systems  may  have  been  constituted 
of  the  same  materials,  before  they  were  worked  into  the 
forms  in  which  we  now  find  them.     We  can  hardly  sup- 


126  EXISTENCE   OF   GOD. 

pose  that  what  admitted  of  being  brought  into  forms,  so 
wisely  and  benevolently  fitted  to  promote  the  happiness 
of  sentient  crea-tures,  should  not  be  called  into  requisition, 
for  this  purpose,  during  the  whole  of  past  eternity. 
Still,  if  we  go  back  of  the  present  system,  through  thou- 
sands of  anterior  systems,  each  having  a  life  of  ages,  we 
must  at  last  come  to  the  first ;  and  back  of  that,  will  lie 
an  eternity  of  unoccupied  duration.  This  is  a  difficulty 
we  cannot  avoid  ;  and  if  we  suppose  our  system  the  first, 
and  an  unoccupied  eternity  beyond  it,  we  have  only  the 
same  difficulty;  and  to  choose  between  two  theories, 
when  the  objections  to  each  are  equally  balanced,  is  an 
impossibility,  and  therefore  we  shall  not  attempt  a  choice. 
The  only  wisdom  (and  this  is  the  practical  lesson  I  wish 
to  enforce)  is,  to  restrain  our  inquiries  when  we  can  find 
no  firm  ground  on  which  to  stand  —  when  we  have  no 
light  of  Philosophy  or  Revelation  to  guide  us. 

227.  (4.)  It  maybe  well  to  contemplate  the  original 
creation,  with  reference  to  the  mode  by  which  the  divine 
power  was  applied  to  the  creative  work. 

We  are  apt  I  fear,  to  entertain  ideas  of  this  subject 
that  make  the  Creator  too  much  like  one  of  us.  We  are 
apt  to  imagine  that  he  had  an  immense  physical  form,  and 
stood  over  the  huge  mass  of  materials,  out  of  which  the 
world  was  to  be  made,  and  by  some  mysterious  power, 
unlike  any  thing  that  has  ever  been  exhibited  since, 
operated  upon  those  materials,  and  brought  them  into 
their  present  form  of  order  and  beauty. 

It  is  natural  that  some  such  ideas  should  be  entertained, 
as  assimilate  the  Deity  to  the  form  and  processes  of 
humanity  ;  and  much  of  the  stjde  and  phraseology  of  the 
Bible,  is  accommodated  to  this  tendency.  Still  we  must 
guard  against  ideas  that  are  too  gross  and  unrefined.  We 
must  not  forget  that  God  is  a  spirit,  and  has  a  mode  of 
operation  peculiar  to  himself.  He  acts  upon  matter 
through  the  power  of  his  spirit,  and  not  as  one  ph^-sical 
body  acts  upon  another.  The  Divine  Being,  as  we  under- 
stand the  subject,  was  then  no  more  obvious  to  human 
perception  than  he  is  now.  He  was  no  more  directly 
active  upon  the  vast  bodies  of  matter  that  compose  the 
solar  system,  than  he  is  at  this  moment.     When  he  said, 


EXISTENCE   OF  GOD.  127 

"  Let  there  be  light,"  "  Let  there  be  a  firmament,"  "Let 
us  malie  man,"  he  uttered  no  audible  voice  that  he  does 
not  now  utter,  in  all  the  processes  of  the  ever  active 
universe.  If  one  of  us,  with  the  physical  organs  we  now 
possess,  had  been  placed  above  the  huge  and  chaotic 
masses  that  were  to  form  our  beautiful  world,  and  had 
been  permitted  to  look  down  upon  the  progressive  work, 
we  should  have  seen  no  more  of  God  —  we  should  have 
heard  his  voice  no  more  than  we  do  now.  True,  the 
all-pervading  spirit  would  have  been  there  —  the  power 
of  the  Almighty  would  have  been  felt  upon  the  changing 
masses,  as  they  assumed  continually  more  of  order,  form 
and  arrangement  ;  but  it  would  have  been  a  presence  and 
power  that  are  felt  now,  as  well  as  then  —  a  presence  and 
power,  felt  by  all  other  worlds,  as  much  as  by  the  one 
that  was  to  be  our  own. 

228,  We  regard  the  Deity  as  in  some  sense  inherent 
in  matter.  He  pervades  it  in  every  part.  He  is  as  pre- 
sent in  the  molecules  that  are  inconceivably  diminutive, 
as  in  the  huge  mass  that  forms  the  centre  of  our  world. 
He  is  as  present  now,  as  he  was  at  the  morning  of  time  ; 
he  will  be  as  present,  in  every  part,  through  all  the 
cycles  of  the  future,  as  he  is  now.  Indeed,  if  we  look 
at  the  subject  with  clear  philosophic  vision,  we  shall  dis- 
cover that  most  of  what  are  called  the  attributes  of  mat- 
ter, are  really  the  attributes  of  the  Deity  that  dwells  in 
and  pervades  all  parts  of  the  material  creation.  Here  I 
propose  to  correct  the  notions  of  some  men  who  are 
called  Philosophers.  They  tell  us  that  the  central  sun 
once  sent  forth  the  earth,  and  other  planets,  to  their  pres- 
ent positions,  by  a  power  or  force  inherent  in  itself. 
Was  not  this  power  the  power  of  God,  and  not  of  mat- 
ter ?  They  tell  us  that  the  earth  and  other  planets  are 
carried  round  the  sun  by  the  combined  action  of  two 
forces,  acting  in  different  directions.  This  is  making  a 
matter  complicated  that  is  itself  simple.  This  thing  is 
not  done  by  two  forces,  but  by  one  ;  and  that  is  the 
power  of  God  ;  and  this  is  proved  by  the  intelligence 
that  always  accompanies  its  exercise. 

In  a  word,  matter  has  no  power  of  its  own.  It  cannot 
cohere,  nor  separate  ;  it  cannot  move  in  a  straight  line, 


128  EXISTENCE   OF  GOD. 

nor  in  a  curve  ;  it  cannot  change  its  position  in  one  way, 
nor  another  ;  it  cannot  arrange  itself  in  order,  nor  in  dis- 
order :  in  fine,  it  cannot  do  any  of  the  things  that  are 
usually  ascribed  to  it.  The  power  of  the  universe  is  the 
power  of  God,  as  much  as  the  intelligence  of  the  uni- 
verse is  the  intelligence  of  God  ;  for  both  these  attri- 
butes are  forever  conjoined,  and  cannot  be  separated ; 
and  it  is  not  good  reasoning  to  refer  one  of  them  to  the 
Deity  and  the  other  to  Nature.  "  All  power  is  of  God." 
We  are  accustomed  to  speak  of  the  "  laws  of 
nature  ;"  and  the  phrase  is  not  objectionable,  if  it  does 
not  mislead  us.  It  may  help  us  to  illustrate  the  truths 
of  natural  science ;  but  sound  Philosophy  knows  of 
no  such  laws.  The  sovereign  will,  accompanied  by  an 
almighty  power,  and  guided  by  wisdom  and  benevolence, 
is  the  true  and  only  law.  All  forms  of  speech  that  do 
not  imply  this,  or  are  not  based  on  this  idea,  are  fal- 
lacious and  untrue.  In  theology  they  have  done  un- 
speakable mischief.  The  tendency  of  men  to  shut  out  a 
Deity  from  the  universe,  and  to  put  Nature  in  the  place 
of  Nature's  God,  should  be  firmly  withstood  by  all  who 
would  maintain  a  sound  Philosophy  or  a  consistent  The- 
ology ;  and  especially  by  all  who  would  keep  unimpaired 
the  substantial  principles  of  morality  and  religion. 

229.  We  have  already  yielded  too  much  to  the  en- 
croachments of  infidel  Philosophy.  We  have  taken 
from  God  a  portion  of  his  divine  power,  and  given  it  to 
Nature.  We  have  allowed  Nature  to  make  her  own 
laws  ;  and  many  of  us  do  not  presume  to  think  that  the 
Deity  is  consulted  in  the  matter.  The  revolutions  of  the 
planets,  the  changing  of  the  seasons,  the  alternation  of 
light  and  darkness,  the  growth  of  vegetation,  the  pro- 
duction of  sunshine  and  showers,  the  support  of  animal 
life; — these,  and  many  other  things,  have  been  handed 
over  to  Nature  ;  and  many  good  men,  and  Christians  too, 
are  ready  to  admit  that  the  God  they  worship  and  whcjm 
they  call  Supreme,  has  no  immediate  or  direct  agency  in 
any  of  them.  Some  even  seem  to  regard  it  as  a  fine 
achievement  of  theological  science,  an  indication  of  a 
high  degree  of  divine  knowledge,  that  they  are  able  to 
elevate  the  Deity  above  many  of  the  inferior  operations 


EXISTENCE   OF   GOD.  129 

of  the  universe.  The  sparrows  used  to  fall  to  the  ground 
by  our  heavenly  Father  ;  at  present,  this  trifling  affair  is 
attended  to  by  the  laws  of  Nature. 

We  have  only  to  say  that  we  have  no  sympathy  with 
this  idea.  It  is  not  good  Philosophy,  it  is  still  worse 
Theology.  It  lessens  the  sanctions  of  moral  duty.  It 
turns  our  thoughts  away  from  God,  and  makes  us  wor- 
ship the  creature  more  than  the  Creator.  The  tendenc3^ 
of  the  theory  is  atheistic,  unchristian  and  immoral. 

230.  We  are  not  unaware  of  the  fact  that  the  theory 
is  assumed  by  some,  as  enabling  them  the  better  to  vin- 
dicate the  divine  character,  by  removing  from  the  Deity 
the  responsibility  of  certain  evils  that  exist  in  the  world; 
but  the  theory  does  not  reach  the  object.  It  rather  in- 
creases the  difficulty  ;  for  while  it  makes  him  no  less 
really  the  author  of  these  evils,  it  attaches  to  him  the 
disgrace  of  seeking  to  hide  himself  behind  the  laws  of 
Nature,  while  the  work  is  being  done. 

SECTION   II.  — The  World  not  Eternal. 

231.  That  matter  is  eternal,  we  may  reasonably 
assume,  as  the  author  of  the  language  placed  at  the 
head  of  this  chapter,  puts  forth  no  opposing  sentiment. 
The  word  create  does  not  imply  the  prod  action  of  the 
world  from  nothing,  as  we  have  shown  in  our  criticism 
on  that  term,  (pp.  56,  57.)  But  the  question  has  some- 
times been  asked,  whether  it  is  not  as  reasonable  to  sup- 
pose that  the  world  alw-ays  existed,  in  an  organized 
system,  as  to  maintain  the  eternal  existence  of  inalfer  in 
any  other  form.  If  we  admit  the  self-existence  of  any 
thing,  may  we  not  as  well  admit  the  self-existence  of  the 
world,  as  the  self-existence  of  the  materials  out  of  which 
the  world  was  made  ?  We  answer.  No  ;  and  we  offer 
our  reasons  for  this  decision  :  —  A  world  of  order  and 
beauty,  such  as  ours —  an  organized  system,  in  which  all 
the  parts  are  wisely  adjusted  and  benevolently  fitted  to 
administer  to  the  wants  of  living  creatures  —  contains 
the  plainest  indications  of  having  been  thus  organized 
and  arranged  by  an  intelligent  Creator.  No  piece  of 
human  mechanism  contains  clearer  proofs  of  the  work- 
ings of  genius  and  skill,  than  the  world  in  which  we 

6* 


130  EXISTENCE   OF   GOD. 

live.  And  as  no  one  would  tliink  of  accounting  for  the 
one  of  these  things,  witliout  an  intelligent  aij.thor  ;  so  no 
one  can  suppose  this  of  the  other.  N(.t  so  with  unorgan- 
ized matter.  It  shows  no  design.  It  indicates  no  pre- 
vious intelligence.  It  has  no  mechanical  structure  ;  no 
systematic  organization.  That  it  may  have  existed  for- 
ever, therefore,  is  not  an  unwarrantable  supposition. 

232.  When  we  look  upon  a  beautiful  temple,  we  know 
it  has  been  made  by  human  hands  and  human  genius  ; 
ior  such  structures  are  never  produced  in  any  other  way. 
No  one  doubts  the  correctness  of  our  conclusion.  When 
we  look  upon  the  trees  of  the  forest,  or  the  stones  in  the 
quarry,  of  which  temples  are  constructed,  we  do  not 
come  to  any  such  conclusion.  We  know  that  human 
lumds  and  human  skill  are  not  necessary  for  the  produc- 
tion of  these  things.  We  might  not  at  first  conclude 
that  they  had  any  maker  at  all.  On  a  closer  examina- 
tion, however,  we  discover  that  the  trees  and  stones,  too, 
show  evidence  of  design.  They  are  composed  of  parts, 
nicely  arranged,  and  must  therefore  have  been  made. 
Could  we,  however,  go  back  to  that  condition  of  matter 
where  no  arrangement,  or  order,  or  system,  could  be  per- 
ceived, the  necessity  of  admitting  a  Creator  would  then 
cease.  All  organization  must  have  an  intelligent  author  ; 
but  back  of  all  organization,  no  intelligent  author  need 
be  supposed. 

233.  Again  ;  another  question,  leading  to  the  same 
result  with  the  one  we  have  just  discussed,  is  the  follow- 
ing:  —  Since,  after  admitting  the  creation  of  the  world, 
we  are  compelled  to  admit  an  eternal  Creator,  does  not 
this  involve  the  same  difficulty  as  to  admit  the  world 
itself  eternal  :  and  if  it  does  involve  the  same  difficulty, 
why  not  as  well  adopt  the  one  theory  as  the  other  ?  We 
answer  that  the  two  theories  do  not  involve  the  same  dif- 
ficulties. That  the  world  was  made,  we  know  from  its 
mechanical  arrangements  and  wise  adaptations.  It  is 
strictly  a  machine,  and  must  have  been  made  by  a  wise 
mechanic.  Not  so,  God.  He  does  not  consist  of  "body 
or  parts."  AVe  cannot  examine  his  structure,  as  we  can 
that  of  the  human  body,  or  the  solar  system,  or  any  other 
of  his  works  ;  and  we  cannot  of  course  detect  in  him  the 


EXISTENCE    OF   GOD.  131 

same  indications  of  design,  as  we  see  in  the  system  of 
nature.  The  two  things  are  quite  unlike.  Our  conclu- 
sions must  correspond  ;  — the  world  was  made  ;  God  was 
not  made. 

SECTION  III.— Creation  by  Natural  Causes. 

234.  Some  Philosophers  admit  the  fact  of  a  creation, 
but  they  seek  to  account  for  it  on  natural  principles, 
without  the  agency  of  a  God.  The  solar  system,  for  ex- 
ample, came  into  its  present  form,  and  assumed  all  of 
the  beauty  and  harmony  that  belong  to  it,  by  the  opera- 
tion of  natural  laws  that  are  inherent  in  matter  itself. 

According  to   one  theory,  advocated  by  these  men,  the 
solar  bodies  — the  sun  and   all  the  planets  — were  origi- 
nally but  one  body  in  a  highly  heated  state.     This   im- 
mense mass  of  heated  matter,  was  subject,  as  it  naturally 
would  be,  to  violent  explosions,  of  which  earthquakes  on 
our  globe    are  but  miniature   representations.     By  this 
explosive  power,  the  planets   were  thrown  off  from  the 
central  mass,  to  the  positions  they  now  occupy  ;  and  some 
of  these  planets,  in  imitation   of  their  illustrious  parent, 
ejected  smaller  bodies  that  now  constitute  their  moons. 
Thus  all  the  great  masses  of  the  solar  system  w^ere  loca- 
ted.    Add  to  this,   that  these  bodies,   turning  on   their 
axes,  would  naturally  become  round,   or  as  nearly  so  as 
they  are  found  to  be.     This  was  the  commencement  of  the 
system  ;  and  as  this  was  affected  by  natural  laws,  so  all 
else  that  occurred  then,  or  has  occurred  since,  is,  in  hke 
manner,  brought  about  by  principles  inherent  in  nature. 
235.  There  are  some  things  that   are  favorable  to  this 
theory;    and,   associated  with   the    doctrine    of   an    all- 
pervading   Deity,    it  may   be  admitted   as  the  true  inter- 
pretation of  the  origin  of  the  world  ;  but  of  itself,  it  does 
not  account  for  all  the  facts  of  creation,   and  never  can 
account  for  them.     The  sun  is  apparently,  perhaps  really, 
a  highlv  heated  body.     As  such  it  may  have  been,  and 
majMioW  be,  explosive  in  its  tendency.     The  other  planets 
may  have    been  the  same.     There  are  many   geological 
facts  which  prove   that  the  earth  was  originally  so  ;  and 
analogy  would  lead  us  to  infer  this  of  the  other  planets. 


132  EXISTENCE   OF  GOD. 

The  idea,  therefore,  that  the  planets  may  have  been  ejected 
from  the  sun,  and  that  the  secondary  planets  may,  in  like 
manner,  and  by  the  same  cause,  have  been  thrown  out 
from  the  primaries,  is  not  unphilosophical. 

236.  Another  thing  may  be  urged  in  favor  of  the 
theory.  The  sun  is  known  to  turn  upon  its  centre.  If, 
therefore,  the  planets  were  thrown  from  it,  the  tendency 
would  be,  to  throw  them  all  in  one  general  direction,  that 
is,  in  the  direction  of  its  central  motion.  Hence,  when 
all  the  planets  are  found  to  occupy  the  position  here  in- 
dicated, the  fact  affords  confirmation  to  the  theory. 

Again  ;  that  the  planets  should  be  of  diflerent  sizes,  and 
be  thrown  to  different  distances,  is  what  we  might  ex- 
pect, and  is  what  we  all  know  to  be  true. 

So  far  the  work  seems  natural.  It  could  all  be  done 
by  forces  now  in  existence.  Farther  than  this.  The  sun 
and  other  bodies,  turning  as  we  know  they  do,  on  their 
axes,  would,  by  a  natural  law,  become  round  ;  not  mdeed 
exactly  round,  but  as  nearly  so  as  they  really  are.  This 
part  of  the  work,  too,  is  a  natural  process. 

237.  We  will  look  now  at  some  of  the  objections  to 
the  theory  —  objections  to  it,  as  disconnected  from  the 
idea  of  a  Creator. 

First,  How  did  the  planets,  when  thrown  to  the  posi- 
tion in  which  we  find  them,  happen  to  remain  there  '/  If 
a  law  of  nature  ejected  them,  why  did  not  another  law  of 
nature  bring  them  back  again  ?  We  know  there  is  such 
a  law.  When  any  body  is  thrown  up  from  the  earth,  it 
comes  back  to  the  earth  again  ;  and  philosophers  tell  us 
that  this  law  is  universal.  How  then  did  the  law  come 
to  be  evaded,  when  the  planets  were  thrown  off  from  the 
central  body  ?  This  matter  has  not  been  explained. 
The  theory  recognizes  one  law  of  nature,  and  makes  use  of 
it  to  eject  the  planets,  and  send  them  off  to  their  proper 
places  ;  but,  to  keep  them  there,  it  is  obliged  to  ignore 
another  law,  whose  existence  is  no  less  certain. 

238.  Again  ;  when  the  planets  were  thrown  out  into 
space,  they  not  only  did  not  return  as  we  should  expect 
them  to  do ;  but  they  commenced  a  motion  that  we 
should  not  expect.  They  began  a  revolution  round 
the  sun.     What  was  the  cause  of  this?     What  natural 


EXISTENCE   OF   GOD.  133 

law    originated    the    annual     revolution    of    the    plan- 
ets? 

239.  Philosophers  tell  us  that  the  planets  move  round 
the  sun  by  the  action  of  two  forces  ;  one  of  which  draws 
them  toward  the  sun,  and  is  therefore  called  the  centripe- 
tal force  ;  the  other  acts  in  a  different  direction,  and  tends 
to  carry  them  away  from  the  sun,  and  is  therefore  named 
the  centrifugal  force.  Acted  upon  by  these  forces,  they 
neither  go  to  the  sun,  nor /rom  it,  but  round  it.  One  of 
these  forces  may  be  called  natural  —  it  is  the  power  of 
attraction  —  the  centripetal  force  ;  but  nature  does  not 
supply  the  other  ;  and  we  cannot  account  for  its  existence 
on  any  known  principle.  But  suppose  we  could.  How 
did  these  forces  happen  to  be  so  exactly  balanced,  that 
the  planets,  vast  as  they  are,  and  immense  as  are  the 
distances  they  travel,  do  not  vary  a  hair's  breadth  from 
the  same  track,  year  after  year,  and  age  after  age  ?  Nor 
this  only  ;  they  come  round,  with  each  revolution,  to  the 
place  of  setting  out,  at  precisely  the  same  moment  of 
time  ! 

240.  To  appreciate  the  force  of  this  reasoning,  let  us 
look  at  the  subject  a  little  more  closely.  The  power  with 
which  the  sun  attracts  the  earth,  (also  the  other  planets,) 
is  said  to  depend  on  two  conditions.  One  is,  the  amount 
of  matter  in  the  attracting  bodies  ;  and  the  other  is,  the 
distance  between  them.  This  increases  the  difficulty  of 
accounting  for  the  revolution  of  the  planets  upon  the 
natural  theory.  The  earth  for  instance,  is  moved  along 
in  space  by  a  certain  force.  Acted  upon  by  this  force 
alone,  it  would  go  forward  in  a  straight  line,  till  it  passed 
entirely  out  of  the  system  and  disappeared  in  the  far  off 
regions  of  space.  This  not  being  the  thing  required, 
another  force  is  instituted,  that  draws  the  earth  toward 
the  sun.  Obeying  neither  force  alone,  it  yields  partly  to 
both,  and  turns  into  a  circular  or  eliptical  path  around  the 
central  body.  The  question  then  presents  itself ;  —  How 
did  the  sun  happen  to  possess  precisely  that  amount  of  mat- 
ter, no  more  nor  less,  that  would  exert  upon  the  earth  the 
requisite  attraction  ?  If  the  sun  had  been  larger  than  it 
is,  its  attraction  upon  the  earth  would  have  been  too 
great  ;   and  the  earth,  3'ielding  to  it,    would  have  been 


134  EXISTENCE   OF   GOD. 

drawn  into  the  central  body.  On  the  other  hand,  had 
the  sun  been  smaller  than  it  is,  the  attraction,  being  less, 
would  have  been  too  little  ;  and  the  earth  would  have 
passed  away,  and  been  lost  from  the  system.  The  same 
unhappy  consequence  would  have  followed,  if  the  ear^th 
had  been  larger  or  smaller  than  it  is. 

241.  Nor  this  only.  The  distance  of  these  bodies  from 
each  other,  is  an  important  consideration.  The  amount 
of  their  attraction  is  determined  as  much  by  this,  as  by 
their  size.  How  then  did  they  happen  to  be  just  so  far 
apart,  as  to  ensure  the  requisite  power,  no  more  nor  less? 
If  they  were  farther  separated,  their  attraction  would  be 
less,  and  would  of  course  be  too  small — if  they  were  not 
so  far  apart,  the  attraction  would  be  greater,  and  of  course 
would  be  too  great.  Now  we  say,  it  was  a  marvellous 
chance  that  adjusted  their  sizes  and  distances,  with  such 
exact  precision,  and  did  that,  not  only  with  reference  to 
one  planet,  but  with  reference  to  a  large  number  of 
bodies. 

242.  The  wonder  is  increased  by  one  other  circum- 
stance. Not  only  must  the  size  and  distances  of  the 
planets,  be  accurately  determined,  as  they  stand  related 
to  the  sun ;  but  a  no  less  important  adjustment  is  neces- 
sary as  they  stand  related  to  each  other  ;  for  they  all  at- 
tract each  other,  and  in  accordance  with  the  same  law  of 
size  and  distance.  What  adds  to  the  difficulty  still  more, 
is,  that  their  relative  distances  are  perpetually  changing, 
as  they  move  in  different  orbits,  and  with  various  veloci- 
ties, around  the  central  sun. 

243.  Another  thing  may  be  added  that  possesses  some 
importance.  It  is  the  motion  of  the  planets  on  their 
axes.  Every  planet  turns  on  its  centre,  and  presents  its 
sides  alternately  to  the  central  luminary.  To  throw  the 
planet  out  from  the  sun,  may  be  the  action  of  a  natural 
law ;  but  to  set  it  rolling  on  its  centre,  so  as  to  warm  and 
enlighten  its  several  sides,  required  another  power,  and 
one  "that  nature  does  not  seem  to  supply.  The  theory  of 
creation,  without  a  Deity,  fails  to  explain  this  difficulty. 

244.  The  formation  of  the  solar  system  has  been  ex- 
plained differently  by  another  class  of  theorists,  alike 
disposed  to  shut  out   the  agency  of  the  divine  spirit. 


EXISTENCE   OF   GOD.  135 

Their  theory  is  this  :  —  Originally  all  the  matter  that 
makes  up  the  solar  system,  existed  in  a  vapory  or 
gaseous  state,  and  was  widely  difiused  throughout  the 
regions  of  space.  In  process  of  time,  this  widely  dif- 
fused substance  began  to  consolidate  at  several  different 
points,  each  point  forming  a  nucleus  around  which  the 
adjacent  matter  continued  to  collect,  till  a  world,  such  as 
ours,  or  such  as  any  one  of  the  other  planets,  was  pro- 
duced. Thus,  by  mere  accident,  (for  without  a  God  it 
could  be  nothing  else,)  the  planets  were  formed  and 
located.  This  being  done  by  a  natural  law,  the  same 
must  be  our  conclusion,  concerning  other  processes, 
whether  we  can  explain  all  the  facts  of  the  case,  in 
accordance  with  the  theory,  or  not. 

245.  We  reply  that  the  theory  leaves  too  many  things 
unexplained.  It  does  not  account  for  the  commencement 
of  the  creative  work.  It  gives  no  reason  for  the  begin- 
ning of  each  world.  It  does  not  account  for  the  size  and 
position  of  the  heavenly  bodies.  Why  did  they  happen 
to  be  formed  in  the  best  possible  places,  and  grow  to  the 
best  possible  size  ?  And  in  what  way,  or  by  what  cause, 
did  they  commence  the  revolutions  they  perform,  both  on 
their  axes  and  round  the  sun  ?  These  questions  are  not 
answered,  and  cannot  be,  by  any  merely  natural  theory 
that  has  ever  been  devised.  We  must  seek  an  explana- 
tion of  these  things  from  some  other  source. 

SECTION   IV.  —  Necessity  of  a  Creator. 

246.  The  solar  system  is  a  most  wonderful  contrivance 
of  the  divine  mind.  The  sun  is  the  centre  of  the  system. 
It  is  a  large  body,  and,  according  to  the  acknowledged 
philosoph}^  of  the  subject,  it  exerts  a  controlling  power 
over  the  rest  of  the  system.  It  could  not  have  fulfilled 
its  evident  purpose,  if  it  had  been  of  different  size  or 
location.  Without  a  Deity,  it  might  have  been  different. 
Chance  might  have  made  it  larger  or  smaller  ;  it  might 
have  made  it  give  too  much  light  or  too  little.  So,  too, 
chance  would  have  been  quite  as  likely  to  place  the  sun 
outside  the  circle  of  bodies,  to  be  lighted  and  warmed  by 
it,  as  within  that  circle,  where  alone  its  work  could  be 


136  EXISTENCE   OP   GOD. 

properly  performed.  Or,  it  would  have  been  as  likely  to 
have  made  a  sun  of  some  other  body,  the  Earth,  for  in- 
stance, or  Venus,  or  Mars  ;  and  who  does  not  see,  that, 
in  such  a  case,  the  operations  of  the  system  would  liave 
been  very  imperfectly  performed,  if  performed  at  all  'i 

247.  Not  only  is  the  sun  the  only  body  that  could  per- 
form its  offices,  and  is  located  in  the  only  proper  place 
for  doing  its  work  ;  but  the  work  is  done,  so  to  speak,  in 
the  most  economical  and  judicious  manner.  Observe  ; 
the  sun  does  not  travel  round  the  planets  to  warm  them 
and  give  them  light ;  but  it  occupies  a  central  and  per- 
manent position,  and  the  planets,  placed  around  it,  are 
turned  over,  and  so  alternately  offer  their  several  sides 
to  its  light  and  heat.  Could  anything  be  more  natural 
and  admirable  than  this  arrangement  ?  The  old  doctrine 
which  taught  that  the  earth  was  the  centre  of  the  s^^s- 
tem,  and  that  the  sun  and  stars  revolved  around  it,  was 
at  once  exploded,  when  the  size  and  distance  of  the  sun 
were  ascertained.  Men  reasoned  thus  :  —  It  is  not  to  be 
supposed  that  an  immense  body,  much  larger  than  the 
earth,  and  ninety-five  millions  of  miles  from  it,  should 
make  a  circuit  of  such  inconceivable  extent,  to  accom- 
plish an  object  that  can  be  accomplished  in  a  much  bet- 
ter way.  The  better  way,  the  true  economy,  is,  to  turn 
this  little  planet  over  every  twenty-four  hours,  and  thus 
permit  all  parts  to  enjoy  the  blessings  of  the  parent  lumi- 
nary. But  the  force  of  this  reasoning,  which  facts  show 
to  be  conclusive,  depends  wholly  on  the  idea  that  the 
affairs  of  the  system  are  wisely  and  judiciously  con- 
ducted. Reasoning  upon  the  chance  theory,  the  ancient 
doctrine  is  as  likely  to  be  true  as  the  modern.  The  true 
plan  was  evidently  chosen,  because  it  was  the  best :  and 
this  act  of  choosing,  implies,  of  necessity,  the  existence 
of  an  intelligent  Creator,  as  choosing  the  best  method, 
shows  his  wisdom  and  goodness. 

248.  That  God,  in  the  beginning,  did,  therefore,  cre- 
ate the  heavens  and  the  earth,  as  the  Bible  says,  seems 
the  most  obvious  and  best  sustained  of  all  truths ;  and 
we  are  constrained  to  regard,  as  the  most  marvellous 
thing,  among  the  wonders  of  the  world,  the  unbelief  of 
men,  or  even  their  doubts,  in  regard  to  this  fact.     Wo 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED. 


13T 


may  be  allowed  to  hope,  then,  that  the  arguments  for  a 
creating  .  intelligence,  that  have  been  presented,  more 
especially  the  objections  to  opposing  theories,  may  be 
regarded  as  entirely  conclusive,  and  may  establish  in  the 
mind,  this  soundest  of  philosophical  truths,  and  most 
practical  of  theological  doctrines. 


CHAPTER  YII. 

THE  OKBATION    CONSIDERED   "WITH  REFERENCE    TO 
THE  FACTS  OF  GEOLOGY. 

Contents  :  —  Primitive  Condition  of  the  Earth  j  First  Day  of 
Creation ;  Second  Day ;  Third  Day ;  Fourth  Day  ;  Fifth  day ; 
Sixth  Day  ;  the  Seventh  Day. 

SECTION  I. — Primitive  Condition  of  the  Earth. 


2.  And  the  earth  was  "without 
form ,  and  void  ;  and  darkness  was 
upon  the  face  of  the  deep  ;  and  the 


Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face 
of  the  waters. 


249.  That  the  surface  of  the  earth  was  originally  water, 
is  conceded  by  all  respectable  Geologists.  The  strata  of 
rock,  with  vegetable  and  animal  remains  imbedded  in 
them,  were  evidently  formed  in  water.  And  there  can 
be  no  doubt,  that,  what  now  constitute  the  highest  moun- 
tains on  the  globe,  was  once  beneath  the  surface  of  the 
ocean  ;  and  that  they  have  been  lifted  up  to  their  present 
position,  by  some  power  acting  from  below.  There  is 
reason  to  believe  that  such  upheavals  and  depressions 
have  occurred  many  times.  Some  of  the  witnesses 
of  what  is  here  stated  will  be  introduced.  Professor 
Jameson,  of  the  University  of  Edinburgh,  uses  the  follow- 
ing language  ;  —  "It  is  impossible  to  deny  that  the  seas 
have  formerly,  and  for  a  long  time,  covered  the  masses 
of  earth  that  now  constitute  our  highest  mountains  ;  and 
further,  that  these  waters  during  a  long  time,  did  not  sup- 
port any  living  bodies.''  La  Place,  an  infidel  philoso- 
pher, gives  his  testimony  to  the  same  point.     He  says  ; 


138  THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED. 

''  There  cannot  be  the  least  doubt,  but  that  the  sea  cov- 
ered a  great  part  of  our  continents,  on  which  it  has  left 
incontestable  proof  of  its  existence."  Buffon,  too,  main- 
tains that  the  earth  was  once  in  a  liquid  state.  De  Luc 
says  :  "  It  is  unnecessary  to  stop  to  prove,  that  our  con- 
tinents have  once  formed  the  bed  of  the  sea  ;  there  is  no 
longer  any  diversion  of  opinion  among  naturalists  upon 
this  point."  Buckland  says  the  same  thing  ; —  ''  All  ob- 
servers admit  the  strata  were  formed  beneath  the  waters." 
Professor  Silliman,  of  Yale  College  saj^s  ;  —  "  The  incum- 
bent ocean  is  indispensable,  equally  so  with  the  agency 
of  internal  fires,  to  the  correct  deductions  of  the  the- 
oretical Geologists."  See  Bakewell's  Geology,  p.  562. 
Turner's  Sacred  History,  vol.  I.  p.  32.  Buckland,  vol.  I. 
p.  42. 

250.  It  is  an  extraordinary  coincidence,  that  many  of 
the  pagan  nations  have  had  traditions,  referring  the 
present  order  of  things  to  original  chaos.  Such  traditions 
have  been  found  among  the  Greeks  and  Komans,  the 
Phoenicians,  the  Scandinavians,  the  Bramins  of  India, 
&c.  &c. 

SECTION  IL— First  Day  of  CreatioxX. 


3.  And  God  said.  Let  there  be 
light :  and  there  Avas  light. 

4.  And  God  saw  the  light,  that 
it  was  good:  and  God  divided  the 
lisrht  from  the  darkness. 


5.  And  God  called  the  light  Day, 
and  the  darkness  he  called  Night: 
and  the  evening  and  the  morning 
were  the  first  day. 


251  The  statement  that  the  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon 
\\\Q  face  of  the  waters,  shows  that  the  writer  is  speaking 
of  the  earth's  surface.  This  was  the  place  that  was  with- 
out form  and  void  ;  and  here  the  first  effort  of  creative 
power  is  put  forth.  AVe  do  not  understand  the  expres- 
sion, "  Let  there  be  light,"  as  relating  to  the  actual  cre- 
ation of  light,  but  to  its  production  in  a  particular  locality. 
"  Let  light  be  there, ^^  that  is,  on  the  face  of  the  deep,  or 
at  the  earth's  surface,  would  convey  the  true  idea,  as  we 
understand  the  subject.  Till  the  time  here  referred  to, 
the  earth  was  surrounded  by  a  thick  mist  or  vapor,  rising 
up  many  miles  above  its  surface,   and  shutting  out  the 


THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED.  139 

sun's  rays.  The  removal  of  this  vapor  by  the  Divine 
Spirit,  or,  if  one  prefers  the  expression,  by  a  natural  law, 
would  allow  the  light  to  shine  down  upon  the  earth's  sur- 
face, and  drive  away  the  surrounding  darkness.  The 
whole  was  a  natural  process,  as  far  as  anything  is  natural  ; 
and  it  was,  in  a  certain  sense,  supernatural,  as  all  else, 
in  the  same  sense,  now  is.  That  this  view  of  the  subject 
is  correct,  is  proven,  both  by  the  language  employed,  and 
by  the  philosophy  of  the  subject.  ,     ,      ^  .     ^.^ 

That  darkness  was  upon  the  face  of  the  deep,  justifies 
the  inference  that  elsewhere  it  was  not  dark  ;  and  that 
the  li^>-ht  may  have  shined  above,  though  not  at  the  earth  s 
surface;  and  hence,  ''Let  there  be  light,"  must  be  ex- 
plained with  the  limitation  we  have  given  the  expression, 
and  which  the  connection  seems  to  require  1  he  other 
clause,  ''face  of  the  waters,'^  where  the  Spirit  of  (rod 
moved,  confirms  the  view  we  have  given,  by  confining  to 
that  locality,  this  first  effort  of  creative  power. 

Further  than  this  ;  — It  is  well  understood,  and  acknowl- 
edo-ed,  by  all  who  have  investigated  the  subject,  that 
ori'^^inally  the  earth's  temperature  was  much  greater  than 
it  is  at  present ;  the  result  of  which  would  be,  the  pro- 
duction of  the  mist  or  vapor,  and  consequent  darkness, 
implied  in  our  interpretation  ;  and  the  removal  or  diminu- 
tion of  that,  would  let  the  light  be  where  it  had  before  been 
excluded. 

252.  The  separation  of  light  and  darkness  is  easily 
explained.  The  light,  coming  from  any  fixed  point,  on 
one  side  of  the  earth,  would  produce  darkness  on  the 
other  side;  and  thus  a  separation  would  take  place. 
"  Evening  and  morning"  are  occasioned  by  an  alternation 
of  light  and  darkness;  and  the  revolution  of  the  globe 
on  its  axis,  would  produce  this  result.  And  it  may  be 
added,  that  the  mention  of  evening  and  morning  implies 
such  a  revolution;  and  we  know,  moreover,  that  such  a 
motion  would  have  a  tendency  to  bring  our  world  into 
its  present  globular,  or  nearly  globular  form,  in  accord- 
ance with  laws  of  matter  now  well  understood. 

If  the  views  we  have  given  of  light  be  objected  to,  on 
the  ground  that  the  sun  was  not  created  till  the  fourth 
day,  we  simply  ask  that  this  objection  be  permitted  to  lie 


140  THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

over  till  we  come  to  that  place  in  the  record,  when  we 
trust  we  may  be  able  to  give  to  it  a  satisfactory  answer. 
For  the  present  we  wish  it  assumed,  that  the  sun  did  exist 
on  the  first  day,  and  gave  light  then,  as  it  gave  light 
afterwards. 

253.  We  will  add  here,  as  relating  to  the  subject  of 
this  section,  that  many  pagan  nations  have  traditions  that 
are  in  harmony  with  the  Mosaic  record.  These  traditions 
doubtless  had  their  origin  with  the  ancient  Hebrews. 
Ellis,  in  his  Polynesian  Researches,  says  of  the  Otaheitaus, 
that  they  "refer  the  first  existence  of  their  principal 
deities,  to  the  state  of  darkness,  which  they  make  I  he 
origin  of  all  things.  These  are  said  to  be  "  fanau  Fo," 
born  of  Night.  **  Po,  the  world  of  darkness."  The 
Anglo  Saxons  began  their  computation  of  time  from  dark- 
ness ;  and  the  beginning  of  their  year  they  call  '*  Mother 
Night."  Aristotle  says  of  the  Greeks  ; — "The  th(;ologians 
say,  all  things  are  born  frcm  night,  the  philosophers, 
that  all  things  were  mingled  together."  Were  not  both 
substantially  correct,  in  these  particulars  ?  x\ccording  to 
Ovid,  the  same  opinion  existed  with  the  Romans  :  and 
Plutarch  and  Diodoros  Siculns  assert  the  same  thing  of 
the  Eg3^ptians.  See  Turner's  Sacred  History,  vol.  1.  p. 
22,  28. 

SECTION  in.  — Second  Day  of  Creation. 


6.  IT  AikI  God  said.  Let  there  be  a 
firmament  in  the  midst  of  the  wa- 
ters, and  let  it  divide  the  waters 
from  the  waters. 

7.  And  God  made  the  firmament, 
and  divided  the  waters  which  were 


under  tlie  firmament  from  the  wa- 
ters which  were  above  the  firma- 
ment :  and  it  was  so. 

8.  And  God  called  tlie  firmament 
Heaven.  And  the  evening:  and  the 
morning  were  the  second  day. 


254.  The  proper  distribution  of  light  and  heat  about 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  as  well  as  the  separation  of  the 
waters,  by  evaporation,  and  sundry  other  purposes,  re- 
quired a  firmament  or  atmosphere.  The  constituents  of 
the  atmosphere,  already  existed  in  the  waters,  and  needed 
only  to  be  evolved  and  compounded  in  the  requisite  pro- 
portion. Tliis  was  done,  like  all  the  rest,  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  that  brooded  over  the  great  deep.  And  it  is  worthy 
to  be  particularly  noticed,  that  this  part  of  the  creative 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED. 


141 


work  was  done  at  the  only  proper  time  for  doing  it.  The 
light  that  now  sliined  down  upon  the  earth,  required  the 
agency  of  the  atmosphere.  The  evaporation  of  water  to 
form  the  clouds,  required  it.  The  growth  of  vegetation, 
and  all  the  subsequent  operations  of  the  world  required 
it.  It  was  not  needed  till  this  time,  and  till  this  time,  the 
surrounding  space  was  otherwise  occupied.  It  now  be- 
came necessary,  and  could  not  be  dispensed  with,  in 
conducting  and  completing  the  divine  operations.  That 
the  firmament  was  made  in  the  midst  of  the  waters,  is  the 
clearest  dictate  of  reason,  in  view  of  what  we  know  of  the 
condition  of  the  earth  at  the  time  here  referred  to.  The 
surrounding  vapor,  caused  by  the  high  temperature,  had 
indeed  been  diminished,  so  as  to  allow  the  light  to  shine 
upon  the  earth,  but  it  had  not  yet  been  wholly  removed. 
In  the  midst,  then,  of  this  vapor,  the  atmosphere  was 
formed.  There  was  water  below,  within,  and  above  the 
firmament. 


SECTION  lY.  —  Third  Day  of  Creation. 


9.  IT  And  God  said,  Let  the  waters 
under  the  heaven  be  gathered  to- 
gether unto  one  place,  and  let  the 
dry  land  appear:  and  it  was  so. 

10.  And  God  called  the  dry  land 
Earth ;  and  the  gathering  together 
of  the  waters  called  he  Seas:  and 
God  saw  that  it  was  good, 

11.  And  God  said,  Let  the  earth 
bring  forth  grass,  the  herb  yield- 
ing seed,  a7id  the  fruit  tree  yield- 


ing fruit  after  his  kind,  whose  seed 
is  in  itself,  upon  the  earth:  and  it 
was  so. 

12.  And  the  earth  brought  forth 
grass,  and  herb  yielding  seed  after 
his  kind,  and  the  tree  yielding  fruit, 
whose  seed  was  in  itself,  after  his 
kind:  and  God  saw  that  it  was 
good. 

13.  And  the  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  third  day. 


255.  Two  prominent  particulars  are  here  brought  to 
view.  One  is,  the  separation  of  the  dry  land  and  water ; 
the  other,  the  production  of  vegetation.  We  will  notice 
each  in  its  order. 

That  what  is  now  dry  land,  was  once  below  the  sur- 
face of  the  water,  is  proved  by  the  presence  of  vegetable 
and  animal  remains,  found  in  the  rocky  strata  that  com- 
pose the  earth's  crust,  as  well  as  by  the  fact  that  these 
strata  must  have  been  formed  under  water.  Many  of 
these  remains  were  dry  land  productions,  that  were 
placed  in  their  position  above  water,  and  afterwards  sunk 


l-i2  THE    CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

with  the  general  surface  beneath  the  ocean,  and  still 
later,  lifted  up  again  into  dry  land,  to  be  again  depressed 
and  raised  indefinitely. 

Plenty  of  Geological  authorities  can  be  adduced  in 
favor  of  the  Mosaic  account.  We  have  before  seen  that 
Professor  Jameson  regards  the  sea,  as  having  once,  and 
for  a  long  time,  covered  the  earth's  surface,  including 
those  portions  that  now  constitute  the  highest  mountains. 
This  of  course  implies  the  separation  mentioned  by  the 
sacred  writers  ;  for  these  mountains,  being  elevated  from 
under  water,  would  form  the  dry  land,  and  allow  the 
waters  to  flow  together  into  one  place.  Higgins  speaks 
as  follows,  on  this  subject :  —  "  The  stratified  rocks  must 
originally  have  been  horizontal,  or  nearly  so  ;  and  many 
of  them  were  formed  in  the  same  manner  as  the  deposits 
which  are  always  to  be  found  in  the  beds  of  rivers,  and 
in  the  basins  of  the  oceans,  but  they  were  afterwards 
acted  upon  by  mighty  disturbing  forces,  which  elevated 
and  disrupted  them,  throwing  their  strata  into  a  variety 
of  forms.  Some  were  upheaved  in  a  mass,  by  an  omnipo- 
tent agent  acting  from  beneath  them  ;  and  some  were 
tilted  into  inclined  positions  ;  and  others,  acted  upon  in 
more  than  one  point,  were  made  to  assume  the  form  of  a 
basin.  These  effects  have  been  both  local  and  general ; 
at  one  time  affecting  a  district  not  more  than  a  few  miles 
in  extent,  and  at  others,  elevating  entire  continents  and 
immense  mountain  chains.  The  agent,  as  we  believe, 
that  produced  these  mighty  effects,  was  internal  heat,  the 
same  cause,  which,  in  the  present  day,  mimics  its  former 
results,  by  the  exhibition  of  volcanic  action,  and  other 
phenomena."  The  same  author  snjs  again:  —  "The 
relative  position,  and  superficial  extent  of  land  and 
water,  have  been  constantly  changing  ;  not  slowly  and 
imperceptibly,  as  at  present,  but  by  the  action  of  causes, 
the  effects  of  which  have  been  almost  instantaneous ; 
upheaving  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  and  deluging  the  dry 
lands.  In  some  instances  the  cause,  and  consequently 
the  effect  has  been  local :  but  at  certain  periods  there 
was  probably  a  universal  convulsive  movement  of  the 
entire  crust  of  the  earth,  when  element,  warring  with 
element,  involved  all  nature  in  one  general  ruin."     Robert 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  143 

Murdie  has  the  following  language  :  —  "  Those  gigantic 
masses,  which  can  have  been  produced  by  no  surface 
action,  are  the  result  of  energies,  which,  whatever  they 
may  have  been,  have  had  their  origin  and  their  plan  of 
action,  within  the  globe  itself;  whether  the  influence  of 
that  action  were  more  general  or  more  local,  whether  it 
went  to  the  uplifting  of  a  continent,  or  the  building  of  a 
chain  of  mountains,  or  merely  raised  the  point  of  a  vol- 
canic cone  above  the  waters  of  the  sea.'' 

These  authorities  are  sufficient,  though  many  more 
might  be  produced  —  all  showing  that  such  revolutipns 
have  occurred,  as  described  in  the  Mosaic  account,  by 
which  a  separation  of  dry  land  and  water  was  effected. 
Higgius,  p.  226,  2U.     Murdie's  Popular  Guide,  p.  22t. 

256.  The  creation  of  vegetation  is  the  next  particular 
embraced  in  the  record.  But  here  I  wish  it  to  be  ob- 
served that,  according  to  the  Bible  account,  there  was  a 
time  when  vegetation  did  not  exist ;  and  it  is  interesting 
to  see  that  Geology  teaches  the  same  thing.  Let  us  hear 
some  of  the  witnesses  to  this  fact.  Bakewell  says  :  — 
'*  The  Primary  Rocks  were  so  called,  because  no  fossil 
remains  of  animals  or  vegetables,  nor  any  fragments  of 
other  rocks,  were  found  embedded  in  them,''  Professor 
Jameson  says  that  the  waters  that  originally  covered  the 
earth,  "  did  not,  for  a  long  time,  support  any  living 
bodies."  Dr.  Good,  in  his  Book  of  Nature,  says  of  the 
Primary  Formations,  "  Not  a  single  relic  of  either  ani- 
mal or  vegetable  petrifaction,  is  found  in  any  of  them." 
Bakewell's  Geology,  p.  1,  562.     Book  of  Nature,  p.  67. 

257.  AVhat  Geologists  call  the  Primary  Formations, 
meaning  the  lowest,  or  those  first  deposited,  do  not,  as 
they  say,  contain  any  vegetable  or  animal  relics.  There 
was  a  time,  then,  when  no  vegetable  or  animal  existed. 
So  say  Geologists  ;  and  so  says  the  Bible  record.  In 
Gen.  ii :  5,  we  are  informed  that  God  made  ''  every  plant 
of  the  field,  before  it  was  in  the  earth,  and  every  herb  of 
the  field,  before  it  grew."  The  idea  seems  to  be,  that 
the  germs  of  the  vegetable  kingdom,  in  their  multifarious 
forms,  were  first  created  in  the  earth,  and  then  grew,  as 
the  result  of  sunshine,  and  rain,  and  cultivation,  as  at 
subsequent  times.     There  are  certain  "  laws,"  as  we  call 


144  THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED. 

them,  that  now  regulate  the  vegetable  kingdom  ;  but  what 
law  of  nature  produced  the  original  germs  from  which 
vegetation  springs  ?  We  know  that  every  form  of  vege- 
table life,  has  associated  with  it,  an  arrangement  for 
securing  its  reproduction  and  perpetuity.  This  we  call 
natural  ;  but  what  natural  law  originated  the  first  seeds 
or  germs  that  were  to  be  thus  perpetuated  ? 

The  action  of  a  divine  power  and  intelligence,  is  the 
only  supposition  that  can  explain  this  phenomenon.  And 
I  would  farther  suggest :  —  if  a  divine  agency  first  origi- 
nated the  arrangement,  whether  it  be  not  the  same 
agency,  (though  we  call  it  a  law  of  nature,)  that  now 
continues  it. 

258.  The  Primary  Formations,  we  said,  are  such  as  lie 
the  lowest  in  the  earth's  crust,  and  were  of  course  the 
first  deposited. 

These  having  no  vegetable  or  animal  remains  in  them, 
were  placed  in  their  position,  before  the  creation  of  vege- 
tation on  the  third  day.  Those  Formations  that  occupy 
a  position  next  above  these,  are  called  Transition  Rocks  ; 
receiving  this  name,  because  they  intervene  between  the 
rocks  below  them,  that  have  no  relics,  and  the  rocks 
above,  where  such  relics  are  abundant.  These  Transition 
Rocks  are  interspersed  sparingly  with  these  remains, 
increasing  with  the  advance  upwards.  This  state  of 
things  is  perfectl}''  consistent  with  the  Bible  account. 
That  account  allows  a  long  period  for  the  Primitive 
Rocks  to  form,  for  we  may  suppose  some  part  of  this 
work  was  done  before  the  Bible  account  begins,  as  there 
is  nothing  in  the  record  to  forbid  this  supposition,  since 
that  record  commences  with  the  surface,  and  does  not 
relate  to  what  may  have  been  done  far  below.  The 
account  then  tells  us  of  the  creation  of  the  vegetable 
kingdom  ;  and  of  course  all  deposits  made  afterwards, 
would  contain,  as  we  find  they  do,  vegetable  relics. 

259.  The  Geologists  speak  of  these  Transition  Rocks 
as  follows  —  Buckland  :  —  "In  the  interior  region  of  this 
series,  plants  are  few  in  number,  and  principally  maiine  ; 
but  in  the  superior  regions,  the  remains  of  land  plants 
are  accumulated  in  prodigious  quantities.''  Higgins  :  — 
"  In  every  period  after   the  formation  of  the   primitive 


THE    CIIEATION    CONSIDERED.  145 

rocks,  it,  [the  earth,]  appears  to  have  been  inhabited  by 
a  class  of  animals,  and  decorated  with  vegetation,  suited 
to  iLs  physical  condition  :  and  the  imbedded  remains  are 
sufficient  evidence  of  this  fact."  Dr.  Good  says  of  the 
same  (ieological  strata  : —  ''It  is  in  this  second  class  of 
formations,  that  petrifactions  first  make  their  appear  • 
ance ;  and  it  deserves  particular  attention,  that  they 
are  uniformly  confined,  both  in  the  animal  and  vegetable 
kingdoms,  to  those  in  the  lowest  links  in  the  scale  of 
organization.  It  is  here  also  that  the  carbonaceous 
matter,  which  is  chiefly  of  vegetable  origin,  first  makes 
its  appearance  in  any  considerable  quantity."  Silliman  : 
—  "In  regard  to  vegetables,  there  is  good  reason  to 
believe  that  they  were  at  least  as  early  as  animals. 
Vegetables  are  found  more  or  less  through  the  whole 
Transition  Series."  This  author  thinks  that  some  vege- 
tables have  become  so  carbonized  as  to  lose  their  iden- 
tity, in  which  case,  vegetable  productions  "  will  claim 
the  highest  rank  in  organic  antiquity."  Buckland,  vol.  I. 
p.  57.  Higgins,  p.  227.  Good,  p.  68.  Bakewell,  p.  555. 
260.  It  has  before  been  observed,  that  the  earth  pos- 
sessed originally  a  much  higher  temperature  than  at  pres- 
ent ;  a  supposition  indispensable  to  a  correct  and  rational 
system  of  Geology.  The  proof  of  the  fact,  (or  one  of 
the  proofs,)  is  derived  from  the  vegetable  and  animal 
relics  just  referred  to.  They  are  such  as  could  not  have 
grown  and  lived  in  the  climate  that  now  prevails  where 
they  are  found  ;  and  they  are  found  too  plentifully,  and 
in  too  perfect  a  foim,  to  have  been  transmitted  lo  the 
place  they  now  occupy,  from  some  distant  region.  They 
required,  and  must  have  had,  a  much  higher  temperature; 
in  other  words,  a  much  higher  temperature  must  have 
prevailed,  on  that  part  of  the  globe,  at  that  time.  The 
fact  doubtless  is,  that  from  the  earth's  primeval  state,  to 
the  present  time,  the  temperature  has  been  constantly 
decreasing :  sometimes  very  slowly,  and  at  others  very 
rapidly,  depending  on. the  convulsions  and  revolutions 
that  have  taken  place. 
•7 


146  THE    CREATION   CONSIDERED. 


SECTION  v.— Fourth  Day  of  Creation. 


14.  IT  And  God  said.  Let  there  be 
lights  in  the  lirmament  of  the  hea- 
ven to  divide  the  day  from  the 
night;  and  let  them  be  for  signs, 
and  for  seasons,  and  for  days,  and  ^ 
years: 

1 5.  And  let  them  be  for  lights  in 
the  firmament  of  the  heaven  to  give 
light  upon  the  earth:  and  it  was  so. 

16.  And  God  made  two  great 
lights:  the  greater   light   to  rule 


the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule 
the  night:  he  made  the  stars  also. 

17.  And  God  set  them  in  the  fir- 
mament of  the  heaven  to  give  light 
upon  the  earth, 

18.  And  to  rule  over  the  day  and 
over  the  night,  and  to  divide  the 
light  from  the  darkness:  and  God 
saw  that  it  was  good. 

10.  And  the  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  fourth  day. 


251.  We  would  suggest  what  seems  to  us  a  ^eiy 
rational  theory,  that  what  is  stated  of  our  planet,  as  to 
its  progressive  formation,  was  also  true  of  the  other 
planets  that  make  up  the  system  ;  and  no  less  true  of  the 
central  body  that  controls  and  governs  the  rest.  The 
sun,  therefore,  according  to  this  theory,  was  in  existence 
on  the  first  day,  and  gave  light  then,  as  it  gave  light 
afterwards.  It  was  not  then  a  perfect  sun,  any  more  than 
the  earth  was  a  perfect  earth.  The  one  changed  and  im- 
proved as  well  as  the  other  ;  and  the  same  was  true  of 
the  whole  system.  In  process  of  time  the  whole  was 
completed  ;  and  the  system  set  in  motion,  as  the  writer 
informs  us.  And  since  it  was  not  his  purpose  to  give  us 
a  particular  account  of  the  other  planets,  but  only  of  the 
earth,  he  therefore  passes  over  the  processes  to  which 
they  were  subjected  ;  and  states,  in  a  brief  and  general 
way,  the  fact  of  their  creation,  and  the  arrangement  of 
the  whole  into  one  great  S3^stem  ;  and  he  chooses  the 
only  proper  time  for  making  this  statement,  viz.  :  at  the 
completion  of  the  work  on  the  fourth  day  ;  though  the 
bodies  referred  to,  may  have  existed,  in  an  imperfect 
state,  as  did  the  earth,  at  the  very  beginning. 

262.  It  may  be  remarked,  however,  that  the  passage 
admits  of  a  construction  that  will  obviate  the  difficulty  in 
another  way.  The  past  tense  in  the  Hebrew  language, 
was  not  divided,  as  in  our  own,  into  Imperfect,  Perfect 
and  Pluperfect ;  but  it  expressed  all  these  by  one  form 
only  ;  and  in  translating,  the  sense  of  the  passage,  and 
its  connections,  must  determine  what  form  of  our  verb  to 
use.  Hence,  verse  16,  of  the  passage  now  under  consid- 
eration, may  be  put  into  brackets,  and  rendered  thus  ;  — 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  147 

[And  God  had  made  two  great  lights,  the  greater  light 
to  rule  the  day,  and  the  lesser  light  to  rule  the  night ;  the 
stars  also]  which  would  throw  the  creation  of  these 
bodies  into  the  past,  and  make  only  the  placing  of  them 
in  the  firmament  of  heaven,  to  have  been  done  on  the 
fourth  day.  We  conceive  that  either  mode  of  removing 
the  difficulty  is  sufficient ;  and  that  the  theory  that  would 
commend  itself  to  our  judgment,  as  most  wortiiy  of 
acceptance  on  the  ground  of  reason,  is  also  in  harmony 
with  the  Bible  account,  when  rightly  construed. 

263.  Another  difficulty  may  be  noticed  and  removed 
by  philosophical  facts.  The  two  great  lights  were  placed 
"  in  the  firmament  of  heaven  ;'\  but  it  will  be  objected 
that  this  cannot  be  true,  as  these  bodies  are  far  beyond 
our  firmament  or  atmosphere.  To  this,  it  would  be  a 
sufficient  reply,  perhaps,  to  say,  that  the  writer  makes 
use  of  popular  language,  which  is  accommodated  to  ap- 
pearances, rather  than  to  facts,  as  when  we  speak  of  the 
sun  rising  and  setting,  though  we  know  no  such  thing 
really  occurs,  but  only  appears  to.  But  if  the  objector 
insists  on  a  philosophical  accuracy  of  language,  on  the 
part  of  the  writer  of  the  Bible  account,  we  would  remind 
him  that  the  language  here  used  is  strictly  accurate  and 
philosophical.  The  lights  are  in  the  firmament  of  heaven, 
and  indeed  they  are  but  a  little  way  from  us,  else  we 
could  not  see  them,  though  the  bodies  that  produce  them 
are  far  away.  I  do  not  presume  that  our  philosophical 
objector  will  claim  that  he  can  see  to  the  distance  of  95 
millions  of  miles,  or  even  240  thousand  miles. 

As  the  mention  of  evening  and  morning,  on  the  first 
day.  proves  the  diurnal  revolution  of  the  globe  at  that 
time  ;  so  the  reference  to  the  seasons  and  years,  proves 
the  annual  revolution  of  the  earth,  on  the  fourth  day. 


148 


THE    CREATION    CONSIDERED. 


SECTION  VI.  —  Fifth  Day  of  Creation. 


20.  And  God  said,  Let  the  "waters 
bring  forth  abundantly  the  moving 
creature  that  hath  life,  and  fowl 
that  may  fly  above  the  earth  in  the 
open  firmament  of  heaven. 

21.  And  God  create;!  great 
"whales,  and  every  living  creature 
that  moveth,  which  the  "waters 
brought    forth    abundantly    after 


their  kind,  and  every  "winged  fo"wl 
after  his  kind  ;  and  God  saw  that 
it  was  good. 

2'2,  And  God  blessed  them,  say- 
ing, Be  fruitful,  and  multiply,  and 
fill  the  waters  in  the  seas,  and  let 
fowl  multiply  in  the  earth. 

23.  And  the  evening  and  the 
morning  were  the  fifth  day. 


2S4.  The  number  of  living  creatures,  great  and  small, 
that  exist  in  the  depths  of  the  ocean,  is  beyond  all  human 
calculatio-Q.  The  waters  have  truly  br.uight  forth  ''abun- 
dantly," from  the  great  whales,  down  through  all  forms  of 
life  to  the  minutest  of  living  creatures,  of  which  the  naked 
eye  does  not  take  cognizance. 

The  statement  of  the  writer  seems  to  convey  the  idea 
that  the  waters  brought  forth  the  fowls,  as  well  as  the 
fishes  ;  and  there  seems  to  be  some  propriety  in  receiving 
the  statement  in  this  way  ;  for  the  two  elements,  water 
and  air,  are  similar,  and  their  respective  inhabitants  are 
constructed  on  similar  principles.  The  passage,  however, 
admits  of  a  different  construction.  It  may  be  construed 
thus  :  —  Let  the  waters  bring  forth  abundantly,  &c.,  and 
[let]  the  fowl  fly  above  the  earth.  Again  ;  God  created 
great  whales,  which  the  waters  brought  forth,  &c.  ;  and 
[God  created]  every  winged  fowl,  &c. 

This  passage  speaks  of  marine  animals  ;  and  the  ac- 
count of  the  creation  of  land  animals  is  subsequent  to 
this  ;  and  hence  the  relics  of  marine  animals  are  found 
lowest  in  the  earth,  as  men  of  science  informs  us.  Bake- 
well  says  ;  —  "  The   lower  series   of  the   transition  beds 

contain  almost  exclusively  the  remains  of  marine 

animals."  Speaking  of  the  strata  above  the  transition, 
called  the  Secondary  Formations,  the  same  author  says  : 
—  "  The  fossil  remains,  in  the  upper  secondaiy  strata,  are, 
with  some  exceptions,  those  of  marine  animals,  but  of 
different  genera  or  species  from  those  in  the  strata  below 
them."  Buckland  : —  "  The  first  remains  of  animal  life, 
yet  noticed,  are  marine."  Bakewell,  p.  1.  Buckland,  vol. 
i.  p.  340. 

265.   The  Bible  record  says  that  God  created  great 


THE  CREATION  CONSIDERED.  149 

whales;  but  the  term  '' whale '^  denotes  any  large  fish 
or  marine  animal.  And  it  must  not  be  passed  in  silence, 
that,  among  marine  fossils,  are  found  animals  of  immense 
magnitude.  Geologicall}^  such  animals  are  called  "rep- 
tiles.'' On  this  subject  Mantell  has  the  following  state- 
ment: —  "There  was  a  period  when  the  earth  was 
peopled  by  oviporous  quairapeds  of  the  most  appalling 
magnitude.  Eeptiles  were  the  lords  of  creation.''  Kig- 
gins  :  —  "  There  was  a  time  in  the  history  of  our  world, 
when  these  animals  (reptiles)  attained  an  appalling  mag- 
nitude, and  rioting  in  the  wide  expanse  of  waters, 
swayed  the  sceptre  of  uncontrolled  power  over  all  other 
created  beings.  They  all  appear  to  have  existed  at  a 
period  when  our  earth  enjoyed  a  much  higher  temperature 
than  it  now  possesses.  Judging  from  the  antiquit}^  of 
the  rocks,  in  which  the  bones  of  reptiles  are  found,  they 
appear  to  have  been  created  a  long  period  before  the 
viviporous  animals,  and  at  a  time  when  the  earth  was 
unfit  for  animals  of  a  higher  organization."  Cuvier  says  : 
—  "It  will  be  impossible  not  to  acknowledge,  as  a  certain 
truth,  the  number,  the  largeness,  and  the  variety,  of  the 
reptiles  that  inhabited  the  sea  and  the  land  at  the  epoch 
at  which  the  strata  of  the  Jura  (mountains)  were  depos- 
ited." Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  Von  Bush,  Ure,  and  others 
could  be  quoted  in  favor  of  the  same  thing.  It  is  sufficient 
to  say  that  no  respectable  scholar,  having  the  least  ac- 
quaintance with  Geological  science,  assumes  to  deny  the 
fact  stated  in  the  Bible,  that  the  first  animal  existences 
were  both  abundant  in  quantity  and  monstrous  in  size  ; 
and  that  the  element  to  which  they  principally  belonged, 
was  water.     liiggins,  p.  257. 

We  may  add  that  there  is  a  natural  reason  why  marine 
animals  were  not  created  sooner  than  they  were,  which  is, 
that  the  element  in  which  they  w^ere  to  live,  was  not  till 
then,  in  a  condition  to  receive  them.  Its  temperature 
was  too  high  ;  and  it  held  in  solution  too  many  mineral 
substances,  as  the  rocky  strata,  formed  above  them,  clearly 
indicate.  Nor  was  this  element  in  a  condition  then  to 
support  animals  of  ahigher  and  more  perfect  organization. 
Hence,  when  it  became  so,  the  huge  and  unsightly  mon- 
sters disappeared,  and  more  perfect  races  took  their 
place. 


150  THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED. 


SECTIOX  VII.  —Sixth  Day  of  Creation. 

24.  IT  And  God  said,  Let  the  earth  26.  IT  And  God  said ,  Let  us  make 
bring  forth  the  living  creature  after  man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
his  kind,  cattle,  and  creeping  tiling,  ness  :  and  let  them  have  dominion 
and  beast  of  the  earth  aher  his  over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over 
kind  :  and  it  was  so.  !  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the 

25.  And  God  made  the  beast  of  i  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and 
the  earth  after  his  kind,  and  cattle,  j  over  every  creeping  thing  that 
after  their  kind,  and  everything    creepeth  upon  the  earth. 

that  creepeth  ujwn  the  earth  after  |  27.  So  God  created  man  in  his 
his  kind  :  and  God  saw  that  it  was  own  image,  in  the  image  of  God 
good.  created  he  him  ;  male  and  female 

'  created  he  them. 

CHAP.  II. 

4.  IT  These  arc  the  generations  of  i  rain  upon  the  earth,  and  there  was 
the  heavens  and  of  the  earth  when  j  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground, 
they  were  created,  in  the  day  that  i      6.   But  there  went  up  a  mist  from 
the  Lord  God  made  the  earth  and    the  earth,  and  watered  the  whole 
the  heavens.  I  face  of  the  ground. 

5.  And  every  plant  of  the  field  i  7.  And  the  Lord  God  formed 
before  it  was  in  the  earth,  andevery  J  man  o/the  dust  of  the  ground,  and 
herb  of  the  field  before  it  grew  :  for  breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
the  Lord  God  had  not  caused  it  to     of  life  ;   and  man  became  a  living 

'■  soul. 

266.  The  manner  in  which  the  beasts  of  the  field,  and 
creeping  things  were  formed  at  first,  has  been  a  trouble- 
some question  ;  and  no  one  has  been  able  satisfactorily  to 
decide  it,  and  perhaps  never  will.  The  Bible  says  ;  the 
earth  brought  them  forth  ;  but  further  than  this,  it  gives 
us  no  definite  information.  So  far  as  this  ralates  to  the 
smaller  animals,  the  insects,  for  example,  there  may  not 
seem  to  exist  the  same  difficulty  as  attends  the  creation 
of  the  larger  species.  The  reason  is,  that  we  witness  the 
same  thing,  or  something  analogous  to  it,  at  the  present 
time  :  and  we  can  the  more  readily  suppose  the  same 
process  at  the  outset.  But  concerning  the  larger  animals  ; 
the  lion,  the  tiger,  the  elephant,  &c.,  we  derive  from  the 
present  no  light  as  to  the  mode  of  their  creation  at  the 
first.  "  Perhaps  they  have  advanced  to  their  present 
size  from  very  small  beginnings."  Perhaps  the}'  have. 
Perhaps  at  first  the}'-  were  mere  animalcules,  such  as  are 
now  generated  in  the  summer's  sun,  and  have  advanced, 
in  the  progress  of  ages,  to  their  present  stature.    This  does 


THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED.  151 

not  remove  the  diflSculty.  It  only  changes  it  to  a  different 
position.  Nature  alone  can  no  more  produce  a  small 
animal,  than  a  large  one.  It  can  no  more  generate  life 
in  the  microscopic  animalcule,  than  in  the  ox  or  the  ele- 
phant. It  can  no  more  produce  the  result,  by  having 
ages  for  the  work,  than  it  can  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye. 
We  must  associate  a  God  with  nature,  to  explain  existing 
facts  ;  and  even  then  the  exact  mode  of  operation  may 
not  be  rendered  certain. 

267.  There  is  one  argument  for  the  progressive  theory. 
It  is  the  argument  of  analogy.  All  else  in  the  creative 
process,  seems  to  have  been  gradual  and  exceedingly 
slow.  The  condensation  of  the  planets,  the  deposition  of 
strata,  and  doubtless  other  processes,  required  long  ages 
for  their  completion.  Why  not  the  same  be  true  of  the 
vegetable  and  animal  productions  ?  That  God  could 
create  the  world  at  once,  and  could  fill  it  with  inhabitants, 
with  a  single  word,  is  not  to  be  doubted.  He  has  power 
enough  to  do  this  ;  but  as  he  has  not  chosen  this  mode 
in  other  productions  and  processes,  why  should  we  sup- 
pose vegetable  and  animal  life  an  exception  to  his  ordinary 
method  '/ 

But,  though  we  adopt  the  progressiv^e  theory,  the  idea 
sometimes  put  forth,  that  an  animal  or  a  vegetable  of  one 
kind,  may  have  risen  up  from  one  of  a  different  or  inferior 
order,  has  no  analogy  or  good  sense  to  support  it. 
Every  plant  and  animal  is  made  "  after  its  kind  ;"  and 
however  long  the  time  in  producing  them,  the  kinds  must 
have  been  separate  and  distinct. 

238.  The  passage  now  before  us,  brings  to  view  the 
creation  of  land  animals.  Of  course  after  their  creation 
we  may  suppose  them  to  have  shared  the  fate  common  to 
all  animal  and  vegetable  existences  before  them.  Tho}^ 
must  have  perished,  and  left  their  bones  to  rot  upon  the 
plains,  or  to  be  buried  in  the  earth,  or  to  be  sunk  in  the 
water.  This  has  been  done  ;  and  according  to  the  Mosaic 
theory,  ih.ej  may  be  expected  to  be  found  in  the  earth,  in 
the  order  laid  down  in  the  record.  On  this  point  what  do 
Geologists  say  ? 

Bakewell :  —  "The  co-existence  of  land  animals,  at 
the  period  when  most  of  the  secondary  series  were  de- 


152  THE  CKEATIUX  CONSIDERED. 

|3osited,  is  proved  by  the  occasional  occurrences  of  ter- 
restrial fossil  plants,  and  the  bones  of  fresh  water  and 
amphibious  reptiles.'^  Jameson  :  —  "  The  bones  of  mam- 
miferous  land  quadrupeds,  are  found  only  above  the 
coarse  limestone,  which  is  above  the  chalk."  The  lime- 
stone and  chalk  are  down  as  far  as  the  transition  strata, 
it  is  not  until  you  get  above  these,  says  Professor  Jame- 
son, that  laud  animals  are  found.  Vegetables,  and  marine 
animals,  we  have  seen,  may  be  found  lower.  They 
should  be  ;  for  according  to  the  Bible  record,  they  were 
formed  first.  Cuvier  has  nearly  the  same  language  as 
Jameson.  So  has  Buckland.  Sir  H.  Davy  says :  — 
"  The  remains  of  quadrupeds  of  extinct  species  occur 
next  above  those  of  birds  and  oviporous  reptiles.  ...  It 
is  only  in  the  loose  and  slightly  consolidated  strata  of 
gravel  and  sand,  and  v/hich  are  usually  called  diluvial 
formations,  tliat  the  remains  of  animals,  such  as  now 
people  the  globe,  are  found. '^     Bakewell,  p.  7,  562. 

269.  The  Bible  tells  us  that  man  was  created  last. 
How  does  the  testimony  of  Geologists  agree  with  this 
statement  ?  We  have  the  satisfaction  of  knowing  thai 
they  all  agree  with  the  Bible  account ;  not  because  they 
are  glad  to  be  found  on  the  side  of  divine  revelation,  for 
some  of  them  are  not ;  but  because  facts  compel  them  to 
give  in  their  testimony  in  its  favor.  The  few  we  shall 
quote  will  represent  the  declarations  of  the  many. 
Jameson  :  —  "  Man  is  found  nowhere  except  at  the  sur- 
face." Bakewell:  —  "The  absence  of  human  bones  in 
the  stratified  rocks,  or  in  the  undisturbed  beds  of  gravel 
or  clay,  indicate  that  man,  the  most  perfect  of  terrestrial 
beings,  was  not  created  till  after  those  great  revolutions 
which  buried  many  different  orders,  and  entire  genera  of 
animals,  deep  under  the  present  surface  of  the  earth." 
Cuvier:  —  "It  is  a  fact,  that,  as  yet,  no  human  bones 
have  been  discovered  among  fossil  remains." 

270.  Thus,  all  through  the  Bible  account  of  creation 
there  is  the  most  perfect  agreement  with  facts  as  they 
exist  in  the  earth.  It  is  the  business  of  Geologists  to 
search  out  these  facts,  and  bring  them  before  the  world. 
They  have  done  so  ;  and  the  result  has  been  astonish- 
ingly in  favor  of  the  Bible  account.     On  this  point,  Cu- 


THE  CREATION    CONSIDERED.  153 

vier,  the  great  French  Naturalist,  whom  we  have  several 
times  quoted,  says:  —  "The  books  of  Moses  show  us 
that  he  had  very  perfect  ideas  respecting  several  of  the 
highest  questions  of  Natural  Philosophy.  His  Cosmog- 
ony ....  is  exactly  the  same  as  that  which  has  been 
deduced  from  Geological  considerations.''  Professor 
Silliman,  of  Yale  College,  one  of  the  best  instructed 
naturalists  of  this  country,  speaks  as  follows: — "The 
order  of  the  physical  events,  discovered  by  Geology,  is 
substantially  the  same,  as  that  recorded  by  the  sacred 
historian.'^     Bakewell,  562,  It,  554,  538. 

271.  I  would  add  that  many  of  the  earlier  events,  re- 
corded m  the  Bible,  are  found  imperfectly  represented  in 
the  traditions  of  pagan  nations.  The  most  remarkable 
instance  of  this  kind,  relating  to  the  creation  'of  the 
world,  is  the  account  given  in  the  Institutes  of  Menu, 
which  Sir  William  Jones  regards  as  nearly  as  ancient  as 
the  Avritings  of  Moses.  The  account  of  the  six  days  of 
the  creation,  as  there  given,  so  obviously  resembles  that 
given  in  Genesis,  that  it  is  scarcely  possible  to  doubt  its 
being  derived  from  the  same  patriarchal  communication. 
There  is  a  particular  description  given  of  the  term  "day,'' 
and  it  is  expressly  stated  to  be  a  period  of  several  thou- 
sand years  —  a  comment  on  the  Mosaic  use  of  that  term, 
of  no  small  importance,  when  its  antiquity  is  considered. 
The  sixth  day  of  creation  closes  up  the  creative  work.  A 
few  remarks  on  the  whole  subject  will  close  the  discussion. 

272.  (1.)  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  as  an  occasion  of  ad- 
miration, that  the  order  of  creation  is  the  most  natural  of 
any  that  could  have  been  devised.  Everything  is  made 
at  "its  proper  time.  Removing  the  superincumbent  vapor 
from,  the  earth's  surface,  allowing  the  light  to  shine  down 
on  the  face  of  the  deep,  was  the  first  work  The  cooling 
process  to  which  the  earth  was  then  subject  would  in- 
duce this  state  of  things.  An  atmosphere  is  next  in 
order.  There  is  now  a  place  for  it  ;  and  it  is  needed 
to  help  carry  on  the  subsequent  work.  Then  a  separa- 
tion takes  place  between  the  dry  land  and  water.  With- 
out this,  vegetable  and  animal  life,  as  it  now  exists,  could 
not  be.  All  that  followed  this  separation,  required  it; 
nor  was  a  different  order  possible.     In  other  words,  the 

7* 


154  THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

plants  and  animals  required  the  dry  land  and  water;  but 
the  latter  did  not  require  the  former.  Again  :  The  vege- 
table kingdom  occupies  the  only  place  that  could  have 
been  properly  assigned  it.  Before  this,  it  could  not  ex- 
ist ;  it  was  indispensable  afterwards.  It  required  all 
that  went  before,  the  light,  the  atmosphere  and  the  dry 
land  ;  but  it  did  not  require  anything  that  followed. 
Then  comes  the  creation  of  animals.  Where  else  could 
they  have  been  placed?  —  not  till  there  was  light;  not 
till  there  was  an  atmosphere  ;  not  till  there  was  dry  land; 
not  till  there  was  vegetation.  Man  is  made  last,  to 
crown  the  work,  as  the  most  perfect  of  the  creation,  to 
have  dominion  over,  and  make  use  of  all  the  rest.  I 
would  add  another  consideration.  At  first  the  temper- 
ature of  the  earth  was  not  adapted  to  its  present  inhab- 
itants, nor  indeed  to  inhabitants  of  any  kind.  Neither 
was  the  atmosphere  in  a  condition  to  subserve  the  pur- 
poses of  the  subsequent  vegetable  and  animal  creation. 
The  high  temperature  filled  it  with  too  much  mist  or 
vapor  ;  but  at  length,  being  removed  by  a  diminution  of 
temperature,  there  would  arise  a  rich  and  luxuriant  vege- 
tation, such  as  we  find  to  have  been  the  case,  from  the 
first  vegetable  relics  found  in  the  earth.  Under  the  state 
of  tilings  then  existing,  such  vegetation  could  exist 
before  the  animals.  And  at  length,  when  the  temper- 
ature and  the  purity  of  the  atmosphere,  would  admit  of 
animals  of  some  sort,  it  might  still  require  a  considerable 
period  for  the  condition  of  things  to  be  suited  to  such 
animals  as  now  are,  and  especially  to  man. 

273.  (2.)  There  is  supposed  to  be  a  discrepancy  be- 
tween the  Bible  account  and  the  facts  of  Geology  in 
regard  to  the  creation  of  vegetables,  and  the  creation  of 
animals  ;  the  latter  being  placed  subsequent  to  the  former 
by  the  Bible,  while  Geology  seems  to  regard  them  as 
cotemporary,  both  being  found  on  a  common  level  in  the 
earth's  crust.  We  remark  in  regard  to  this  matter,  that 
the  point  here  involved  is  not  a  settled  question  among 
Geologists  ;  and  until  it  becomes  so,  no  argument  can  be 
drawn  from  it. 

Besides,  we  are  to  consider  that  vegetable  relics  may 
have  existed  on  the  surface  of  the  dry  land,  long  before 


THE  CREATION    CONSIDERED.  155 

animals  were  deposited  there  :  and  3^et,  as  they  could  not 
be  covered  up  so  as  to  be  imbedded  in  the  solid  rucks  by 
aque:>us  deposits,  till  sunk  beneath  the  water,  they  Avould 
occupy  a  common  level  with  animals,  and  seem  to  have 
been  placed  in  their  position  at  the  same  time. 

274.  (3.)  The  question  whether  the  days  of  creation 
were  literal  days,  or  periods  of  indefinite  length  ;  both  in- 
terpretations being  sustained  by  usage,  is  still  open  to  dis- 
cussion. That  a  special  exercise  of  divine  power  could 
have  created  the  world  in  six  natural  da^'sis  not  doubted  ; 
and  as  the  first  production  of  the  earth's  arrangements, 
must  have  been  special,  with  any  view  we  can  take  of  the 
subject,  there  is  perhaps  no  more  difficulty  in  regarding 
it  as  special  and  peculiar,  with  respect  to  time,  than 
with  respect  to  mode.  Analogy,  more  than  any  exegesis 
of  terms,  or  facts  of  Geology,  favor  the  idea  of  extending 
the  term  ''  day"  to  a  long  and  indefinite  period.  Jf  the 
condensation  of  the  planets,  from  a  gaseous  to  a  solid 
state  •  the  deposition  of  strata,  forming  the  earth's  crust ; 
and  other  processes  ;  some  of  which  must  have  occurred 
before  the  Mosaic  account  begins,  and  others  may  have 
occurred  before  that  period,  were  slow,  and  required 
periods  of  great  length,  as  seems  indisputable;  then  the 
production  of  light  at  the  earth's  surface,  the  formation 
of  the  atmosphere,  the  separation  of  dry  land  and  water, 
etc.,  would  most  naturally  be  subject  to  the  same  law  of 
progress,  and  require  long  periods  for  their  completion. 
Some  Geologists  take  this  view  of  the  term  da}^  among 
whom  may  be  mentioned,  Jameson,  Silliman,  Good, 
Hitchcock,  &c. 

275.  If  it  be  objected  to  this  view  of  "day,"  that  it  is 
described  in  the  account  as  made  up  of  an  "  evening',"  and 
a  •'morning,"  and  must  therefore  have  been  a  natural  day 
of  twenty-four  hours  ;  we  reply,  that  the  passage  ma}^  be 
differently  construed,  with  equal  fidelity  to  the  original  ; 
"There  was  evening  and  morning,  the  first  day"  —  in 
other  words,  the  earth  turned  on  its  axis,  producing  a  suc- 
cession of  evening  and  morning  during  the  first  period, 
may  be  the  true  rendering.  But  if  this  does  not  meet  the 
objection  satisfactorily,  there  is  another  reply  that  may, 
and   may  not,  be  more  satisfactory.     It  is  this  ;  —  Each 


156  THE    CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

period  may  be  spoken  of,  with  propriety,  as  liaviiig  an 
evening  and  a  morning  ;  and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that 
each  Geological  epoch  is  represented  as  being  marked  by 
a  gradual  approach,  and  then  by  a  gradual  decline,  of 
what  constitute  its  distinguishing  features,  not  unlike  the 
approach  of  light  and  its  gradual  decline  in  the  natural 
day.  The  late  Hugh  Miller  takes  this  view,  and  illus- 
trates it  beautifully. 

276.  It  is  worthy  of  special  notice,  in  this  connection, 
that  the  six  days  of  creation  are  called  "  generations  ;" 
and  the  whole  period  of  creation  is  called  "  a  day,"  ii.  4 
—  a  pretty  good  evidence  that  the  latter  term  is  used 
in  a  very  extended  and  indefinite  sense  —  a  usage  the 
more  satisfactory,  in  establishing  this  point,  for  being 
employed  by  the  same  writer,  and  in  connection  with  the 
same  subject. 

277.  In  conclusion  of  this  subject,  it  may  be  proper  to 
recapitulate  the  main  points  of  agreement,  between  the 
Mosaic  account,  and  the  well  ascertained  facts  of  Ge- 
ology. 

(1.)  The  earth  was  originally  in  a  liquid  state,  made  so, 
mainl}^  by  the  action  of  heat. 

(2.)  There  was  a  time  when  no  vegetable  or  animal 
life  existed  on  the  earth.  Moses  makes  a  considerable 
period  to  have  elapsed  before  the  creation  of  vegetables 
or  animals.  Geologists,  too,  assure  us  that  there  could 
have  been  no  vegetable  or  animal,  during  the  period  the 
Primitive  Rocks  were  being  deposited. 

(3.)  The  whole  earth,  being  once  covered  with  water, 
there  must  have  been  a  time  when  the  water  and  dry  land 
were  separated.  Such  separation,  Moses  informs  us,  took 
place  by  the  fiat  of  Omnipotence.  Geologists  tell  us 
there  was  such  a  separation,  and  that  similar  convulsions 
have  been  frequent  in  past  ages. 

(4.)  The  first  living  thing  created,  was  vegetation.  So 
says  the  Bible  ;  and  few  Geologists  have  expressed  any 
doubt  on  this  point. 

(5.)  The  first  living  animals  created,  were  marine. 
Moses  speaks  thus,  and  so  do  Geologists,  as  these  are 
found  lowest  among  the  deposites  of  animal  remains. 

(6.)  Man   was  made   last.     So   says   the  Bible  ;  and 


THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED. 


157 


Geologists  agree  to  this  statement.  All  human  relics  are 
found  at  the  surface.  This  is  admitted  as  true  now  ;  but 
there  is,  with  some  men,  a  lingering  hope  that  future  dis- 
coveries will  detect  the  existence  of  human  bones  m  the 
rocks  (of  which  there  are  yet  no  well  attested  examples,) 
that  will  prove  the  Bible  false.  We  have  only  to  wait 
and  see. 

278.  These  are  the  prominent  points  of  the  Bible 
record';  and  they  are  fully  sustained  by  scientific  investi- 
gations. These  investigations,  it  should  be  added,  belong 
to  modern  times  ;  and  so  far  as  we  know,  only  to  modern 
times.  Hence  there  was  no  source  from  which  the 
ancients  could  have  obtained  such  information,  but  from 
the  Divine  Being,  who  must,  therefore,  have  revealed  it 
to  them. 

SECTION   VIII.— The  Seventh  Day. 


CHAP.  II. 


1.  Thus  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  were  finished,  and  all  the 
host  of  them. 

2.  And  on  the  seventh  day  God 
ended  his  work  which  he  had  made ; 
and  he  rested  on  the  seventh  day 


from  all  his  work  which  he  had 
made. 

3.  And  God  blessed  the  seventh 
day,  and  sanctified  it:  because  that 
in  it  he  had  rested  from  all  his  work 
which  God  created  and  made. 


279.  That  God  blessed  the  seventh  day  and  sanctified 
it,  because  that  on  it  he  had  rested  {ceased,  as  the  word 
means)  from  all  his  work,  is  simply  a  statement  of  the 
origin  of  the  sabbath,  as  understood  by  the  writer,  and 
was  probably  not  written  at  the  time  the  account  was, 
with  which  it  is  connected,  but  at  a  later  period,  when 
other  Mosaic  institutions  were  established.  This  is  made 
obvious,  both  by  a  careful  inspection  of  the  place  where 
it  is  found,  showing  clearly  that  it  does  not  belong  there  ; 
and  also  by  the  fact,  that,  no  where  in  the  book  of  Gen- 
esis, is  there  any  allusion  to  such  an  institution  as  the 
sabbath. 

280.  The  original  record  simply  states  that  God  ended 
his  work  which  he  had  made  ;  and  he  rested  (ceased) 
on  the  seventh  day  from  all  his  work  which  he  had  made  ; 
but  it  does  not  state  that,  on  this  account,  God  sanctified, 
or  set  apart,  that  day  as  a  sabbath. 

14 


158  THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

281.  It  may  be  added  that  the  translators  were  evidnet- 
I3'  misled  by  this  interpolation,  and  gave  a  rendering  to 
the  word  "  rest,"  which  does  not  belong  to  it  in  this  con- 
nection. True  the  original  word  means  rest,  and  the 
term  sabbath,  as  denoting  a  day  of  rest,  is  derived  from  it ; 
but  it  also  means,  rest  from,  or  cease  to  do  a  thing,  and 
plainly  has  this  meaning  here.  It  is  translated  cease  in 
viii.  22. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

CREATION  OF  MAN  AND  THE  UNITY  OP  THE  RACE. 

Contents:  —  Creation  of  Man;  Unity  of  the  Race  as  a  Bible 
doctrine  ;  Unity  of  the  Race  on  Natural  Grounds ;  Common 
Theory  Considered  ;  True  Theory. 

SECTION  I.  — Creation  of  Man. 

282.  The  creation  of  man  is  involved  in  greot  obscur- 
ity. The  fact  of  his  creation  is  asserted  in  the  Scrip- 
tures, and  the  fact  of  his  creation  is  proved  b,y  Geok)gi- 
cal  phenomena  :  for  there  was  a  time  when,  according  to 
Geology,  man  did  not  exist :  as  he  does  now  exist,  it 
follows  that  he  must  have  been  created.  But  the  manner 
of  his  creation,  is  wholly  unknown.  He  was  made  of  the 
dust  of  the  ground.  This  we  know,  independent  of  rev- 
elation. All  the  materials  that  make  up  the  human  body 
are  found  in  the  soil,  the  atmosphere,  and  other  elements. 
Perhaps  it  is  as  true  of  man,  as  to  his  physical  existence, 
as  of  other  animals,  that  "  the  earth  brought  him  forth." 
It  is  certain  that  he  can  be  referred  to  no  other  source. 
We  are  not  aware  that  "Philosophers"  have  ever 
assigned  him  any  other  origin ;  and  therefore,  in  this 
particular,  they  should  not  object  to  the  Bible  doctrine. 

283.  But  this  being  admitted,  the  mind  is  still  unsat- 
isfied, and  must  ever  be,  as  to  the  mode  by  which  these 
elements  were  combined  into  a  human  bod3^  To  derive 
man  from  the  ape,  and  then  from  some  other  animal  still 
lower,  and  so  on  back  to  the  insect,  does  not  remove  the 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  159 

difficulty.  The  first  starting  point  needs  a  God,  as  much 
as  the  full  stature  of  a  perfect  man  ;  and  hence,  were  we 
to  admit  this  theory,  we  cculd  not  get  rid  of  a  first  intel- 
ligent cause  that  originated  and  conducted  the  long  con- 
tinued process.  But  admitting  a  God,  the  difficulty  is 
removed  only  in  part,  since  the  mode  of  creation,  he  has 
not  condescended  to  reveal,  and  philosophy  throws  no 
clear  light  upon  the  subject. 

284.  God  made  man  male  and  female.  The  word  "man" 
includes  both  sexes.  This  affords  a  conclusive  argument 
against  any  theory  that  shuts  out  a  Deity  from  the  creative 
work.  It  v/ould  have  been  a  singular  chance  that  produced 
a  man  and  a  woman  at  the  same  time,  especially  if  we 
adopt  the  theory  that  traces  our  existence  back  through 
untold  generations  to  the  smallest  of  earth-born  creatures. 
Two  operations,  commencing  at  the  same  time,  and  con- 
tinuing on  in  parallel  lines  through  innumerable  ages, 
and  terminating  at  last  in  the  perfect  form  of  a  male  and 
a  female,  and  coming  at  this  result  at  the  same  time,  is  a 
chance  phenomenon  that  few  sensible  men  will  be  likely 
to  adopt. 

285.  One  truth,  we  think,  is  beyond  dispute,  that  it 
is  much  more  difficult  to  exclude  a  Deity  from  the  crea- 
tion, than  to  admit  his  agency,  though  we  may  see,  or 
think  we  see,  objections  to  the  latter  view.  We  ought 
not  to  reject  propositions  that  are  well  sustained,  though 
involving  some  difficulties,  when,  in  so  doing,  we  are 
compelled  to  admit  others,  at  which  common  sense  re- 
volts and  yet  this  is  a  common  weakness,  with  a  certain 
class  of  men,  who  call  themselves  philosophers,  and  who 
arrogate  to  themselves  a  much  larger  share  of  reason  and 
common  sense,  than  they  are  willing  to  allow  to  others. 

286.  Two  things  are  asserted  of  man,  having  reference 
to  his  creation,  that  are  worthy  of  special  notice.  One  is, 
man's  physical  creation.  God  made  him  of  the  dust  of 
the  ground,  and  breathed  into  him  the  breath  of  life, 
and  he  became  a  living  soul.  Another  is,  his  spiritual 
creation.  God  made  him  in  his  own  image.  The  impor- 
tance of  this  fact  made  the  author  repeat  it.  In  the  image 
of  God  made  he  him.  The  first  of  these  passages  can 
have  no  reference  to  the  soul  or  spirit,  as  the  term  "  soul'' 


160  THE    CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

there,  is  not  used  in  the  modern  sense  of  that  word,  but 
has  the  meaning  of  "creature.'^  And  the  last  passage 
can  have  no  reference  to  the  body,  as  that  cannot  be 
regarded,  as  in  any  sense,  the  image  of  God. 

SECTION  II.  —  Unity  of  thk  Race  as  a  Bible  Doctrine. 

2S7.  The  common  opinion  among  men  who  take  the 
Bible  as  their  standard  of  faith,  is,  that  all  men  had  a 
common  origin,  and  sprang  from  one  human  pair.  Some 
few,  however,  have  thought  diiFerently,  and  at  the  same 
time  have  professed  adherence  to  the  Bible  history. 
They  tell  us  that  the  Bible  is  not  decisive  on  this  point. 
It  seems  to  them  that  the  book  mentions  at  least  two 
creations  of  men,  one  in  chapter  first,  verse  26,  of  Gen- 
esis, and  the  other,  in  chapter  second,  verse  seventh. 
Som.e  add  to  this  opinion,  that  the  man  created  in  the 
second  instance,  was  to  till  the  ground  ;  while  such  was 
not  the  purpose  had  in  view  in  the  first  creation.  On  the 
contrary,  the  man  first  made,  was  to  have  dominion  over 
the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  fowls  ot  the  air,  and  the  fishes 
of  the  sea  —  a  plain  indication  that  he  and  his  race  were 
to  subsist  by  hunting  and  fishing,  and  not  by  cultivating 
the  ground.  And  we  know  there  have  always  been  men 
of  this  stamp,  of  which  our  American  Indians  are  perhaps 
the  most  remarkable  example. 

288.  Again  :  if  there  were  not  other  creations  besides 
Adam  and  Eve,  where,  it  is  asked,  did  Cain  get  his 
wife  ?  since  Adam,  Eve  and  Cain  were  the  only  persons 
living,  according  to  the  Bible,  at  the  time  of  his  marriage, 
and,  who  wore  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  that  he  built  ? 
and,  how  could  Cain  fear  that  those  who  should  find  him 
would  slay  him,  while  there  were  yet  no  persons  living, 
from  wliom  he  could  expect  any  hostile  intentions  ? 

289.  Most  men,  however,  who  take  the  ground  of  dif- 
ferent races,  or  different  origins  of  the  race,  do  so,  either 
with  open  and  undisguised  disregard  of  the  Bible,  or  with 
a  disregard  obviousl}^  implied  ;  and  they  rely  for  proofs 
of  their  opinion,  on  the  wide  difierences  there  are  among 
men,  in  color,  form,  features,  &c. 


THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED.  161 

290.  The  question  that  divides  inquirers  on  this  subject 
is  not  one  that  can  be  decided  with  as  much  ease  and 
dispatch  as  the  casual  observer  may  suppose.  The  allu- 
sions in  the  Bible,  to  one  origin,  or  more  than  one,  are 
not  so  decisive  as  to  remove  all  doubts  ;  and  the  facts  of 
nature,  are  not  such,  as  to  admit  of  being  brought  into 
harmony  with  the  one  theory  or  the  other,  witliout  con- 
siderable discussion.  It  is  certain  that  much  has  been 
written  upon  the  subject ;  and  yet  there  is,  by  no  means, 
a  uniformity  of  opinion  respecting  it. 

291.  For  ourself  we  see  no  substantial  reasons  for  re- 
linquishing the  common  view  of  one  origin  of  the  race, 
both  as  a  Bible  doctrine,  and  as  most  in  harmony  with 
the  facts  of  nature.  Still  we  may  not  explain  either  the 
Bible  or  facts,  after  the  common  mode,  nor,  perhaps  after 
any  mode  but  our  own. 

Of  course  our  purpose  does  not  require  nor  permit  a 
long  continued  discussion.  We  hope,  however,  to  give 
the  reader  as  much  satisfaction,  as  he  would  be  likely  to 
find,  perhaps  more,  than  if  he  were  to  read  many  volumes 
on  the  subject. 

292.  In  regard  to  the  statements  of  the  Bible,  we  re- 
mark, first,  that  what  are  called  two  creations,  are  in  fact 
but  two  statements  of  one  creation.  The  careful  reader 
will  not,  I  think,  fail  to  perceive  this.  The  latter  passage 
only  need  be  quoted  to  make  this  obvious.  "  These  are 
the  generations  of  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  when  they 
were  created,  in  the  day  that  the  Lord  God  made  the 
earth  and  the  heavens,  and  every  plant  of  the  field  before 
it  was  in  the  earth,  and  every  herb  of  the  field  before  it 
grew ;  for  the  Lord  God  had  not  caused  it  to  rain  upon 
the  earth,  and  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground. 
But  there  w^ent  up  a  mist  from  the  earth,  and  watered  the 
w^hole  face  of  the  ground  ;  and  the  Lord  God  formed  man 
from  tlie  dust  of  the  ground,  and  breathed  into  his  nostrils 
the  breath  of  life,  and  man  became  a  living  soul."  ii.  4-7. 
The  statement  that  there  was  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground, 
refers  back  to  the  period  when  there  was  yet  no  vegeta- 
tion on  the  earth.  At  that  time,  there  was  not  a  man  to 
till  the  ground.  The  period  referred  to,  w^as  prior  to  what 
is  called  the  first  creation.     Of  course  the  second  account 


162         THE  CREATION  CONSIDERED. 

is  only  a  repetition   of  the  first,   and  cannot  possibly   be 
referred  to  the  creation  of  another  and  dilVerent  race. 

The  language  of  the  two  passages  is  somewhat  varied, 
but  they  are  sufficiently  alike  to  make  their  meaning  ob- 
viously the  same.  To  subdue  the  earth,  in  the  one,  and 
to  till  the  ground,  in  the  other,  are  sufficiently  identical. 
And  that  the  dominion  over  the  animals,  was  not  intended 
to  indicate  a  particular  mode  of  life,  is  proved  by  the  fact, 
that  the  same  dominion  was  given  to  Noah  and  his  sons 
after  the  flood  ;  and  it  was  surely  not  then  understood  as 
shutting  them  out  from  the  cultivation  of  the  earth. 

293.  The  oft  repeated  question  ;  —  Where  did  Cain  get 
his  wife,  if  there  was  no  other  branch  of  the  human  race 
but  that  of  Adam,  must  be  answered,  as  it  has  often  been 
answered  before  ; — he  obtained  her,  from  among  other 
members  of  the  Adamic  family  ;  for  though  none  are  men- 
tioned up  to  that  period  of  the  history,  the  general  state- 
ment that  "  Adam  had  sons  and  daughters,"  without 
assigning  them  any  date,  allows  us  to  place  some  of  these 
in  advance  of  the  time  that  Cain  took  his  wife,  there  being 
nothing  to  exclude  this  idea,  but  some  things  that  seem 
to  demand  it. 

294.  No  one  can  fail  to  perceive,  that  the  order  of  time 
is  not  observed  by  the  sacred  writer,  nor  are  all  events 
recorded,  that  are  presumed  to  have  taken  place.  Still  no 
one  need  be  misled  at  all,  who  sincerely  desires  to  under- 
stand and  rightly  interpret  the  bock.  It  is  only  such 
as  have  a  favorite  theory  support,  or  such  as  wish  to 
bring  the  book  into  disrepute  altogether,  that  can  fail  to 
perceive  and  appreciate  the  facts  as  they  are.  The  writer, 
having  introduced  the  case  of  Cain,  continues  and  finishes 
what  he  has  to  say  of  that  personage,  his  residence,  hii 
marriage,  the  city  he  built,  and  his  posterity  for  six  gen- 
erations. He  then  mentions  the  birth  of  Seth,  in  the 
place  of  Abel,  whom  Cain  slew.  Shall  we  say  that  things 
are  here  recorded  in  the  order  they  occurred,  and  that 
Adam  did  not  have  Seth  till  six  generations  of  Cain  had 
made  their  appearance,  and  most  of  them,  perhaps,  had 
passed  away  l"  This  would  be  preposterous.  Weall  un- 
derstand, that  having  disposed  of  Cain  and  his  descendants, 
the  writer  goes  back,  and  takes  up  the  history  of  Adam 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  163 

where  he  had  left  it,  and  speaks  of  the  birth  of  Seth. 
There  is  nothing  against  the  supposition,  therefore,  that 
the  birth  of  Seth,  and  of  many,  if  not  all,  of  Adams'  other 
sons  and  daughters,  occurred  before  Cain  took  his  wife. 
Add  to  this  that  Seth  was  to  fill  the  place  of  Abel,  and  as 
sucli,  there  may  have  been  some  reason  for  the  fears  of 
Cain  lest  that  brother  might  avenge  the  murderous  act  that 
had  taken  the  life  of  Abel. 

295.  Let  another  thing  be  noticed.  Cain  was  to  be  a 
fugitive  and  a  vagabond  in  the  earth  ;  and  yet  the  next 
thing  we  hear  of  him  is,  that  he  had  a  son  and  built  a 
city.  How  could  his  sentence  have  been  fulfilled,  unless 
a  considerable  time  elapsed,  between  the  first  and  last  of 
these  events  ?  While  Cain  was  leading  a  fugitive  and 
vagabond  life,  therefore,  the  "  sons  and  daughters  '^  of 
Adam  might  have  become  sufificiently  numerous  to  have 
allowed  him  a  fair  opportunity  for  choosing  a  companion 
and  bringing  together  inhabitants  for  the  city  that  he 
built.  Nor  does  it  follow  from  this  view,  that  Cain  mar- 
ried his  sister,  though  it  does  follow  that  some  one  or 
more  of  his  brothers  did  ;  and  as  there  was  no  law  or  cus- 
tom to  prevent  such  a  union,  as  at  a  later  day,  the  occur- 
rence was  not  an  unnatural  and  an  improper  one. 

SECTION  III. —  Unity  of  the  Kace  on  Natural  Grounds. 

296.  The  reasons  for  concluding  that  men  had  more 
than  one  origin,  are  quite  as  unsatisfactory  on  natural,  as 
on  Bible  grounds.  That  the  extremes  of  the  race  are 
widely  separated,  is  certain  ;  but  the  difference  and 
shades  of  difference  are  so  gradual,  advancing  from  one 
extreme  to  the  other,  that  no  one  can  point  out  the  divid- 
ing line  that  separates  the  different  branches  of  the  human 
family.  Hence,  as  might  be  expected,  there  is  very  little 
uniformity  of  opinion,  as  to  the  number  of  races,  some 
giving  us  three,  some  five,  and  some  a  larger  number. 

297.  The  plan  of  dividing  men  into  different  races,  so 
as  to  favor  the  idea  that  they  did  not  emanate  from  one 
parentage,  is  liable  to  serious  objections  on  another  ac- 
count. There  is  no  mark  of  difference  that  does  not 
admit  of  infinite  modifications.     If  it  be  the  shape  of  the 


164  THE    CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

head,  tliorc  is  every  variety  of  form,  from  the  upright 
forehead  of  the  most  intelligent  and  refined  European,  to 
the  receding  slope  of  the  most  ignorant  and  debased 
negro.  If  the  hair  is  made  the  test,  there  is  no  less  va- 
riety in  this  particular.  Or  if  the  thickness  of  the  lips, 
or  the  prominent  cheek  bones,  or  the  projecting  heels,  be 
chosen  to  mark  the  difference,  there  will  be  found  the 
same  difficulty  ;  since  the  extremes  of  difference  have 
infinite  intervening  mollifications.  There  is  the  same 
difficulty  here,  that  there  is  in  dividing  men  into  saints 
and  sinners  ;  for,  though  you  can  speak  of  them  under 
these  designations,  having  reference  to  persons  widely 
separated  in  respect  to  character,  j-et  the  shades  of  char- 
acter are  so  numerous,  and  run  into  each  other  so  imper- 
ceptibly, that  no  point  can  be  fixed  upon,  where  a  dis- 
tinct line  of  separation  can  be  drawn.  The  same  is  true 
of  color.  From  the  lightest  to  the  darkest,  there  is  a 
gradation  so  imperceptible,  that  no  place  can  be  selected, 
which,  more  than  any  other,  can  be  regarded  as  the 
dividing  line.  We  may  divide  men  into  races  on  the 
ground  of  intelligence,  or  character,  as  well  as  on  the 
ground  of  color  ;  and  how,  in  such  a  case,  shall  we  decide 
the  number  of  races  ?  The  truth  is,  there  are  insuperable 
difficulties  in  the  w^ay  of  dividing  men  into  races,  many 
or  few,  by  any  clear  and  distinct  indications,  on  any 
grounds  that  have  yet  been  assumed. 

298.  Again,  we  know  that  what  we  call  the  races  may 
mix  ;  and  the  offspring  of  this  union  will  possess,  to  a 
limited  extent,  the  peculiarities  of  both  races.  We  know 
they  are  thus  mixed  all  over  the  world  ;  and  it  is  pos- 
sible to  conceive  of  them  as  being  much  more  completely 
amalgamated  than  they  are  at  present.  And  if  this  can  be 
conceived  of  as  possible,  may  not  the  converse  of  this 
be  conceived  of  with  equal  consistency,  in  which  case 
the  races  thus  mixed  would  become  again  separated,  and 
regain  all  the  marked  peculiarities  they  had  at  first  ? 

If  this  be  good  reasoning,  then  it  follows  that  all 
branches  of  the  human  family,  ma}''  have  proceeded  from 
a  common  parentage,  having  a  combination  of  the  char- 
acteristics that  are  now  seen  more  prominently  in  the 
different  tribes  and  races  that  emanated  therefrom.     In 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  165 

what  manner,  and  by  what  means,  this  could  be  done, 
will  be  shown  before  we  close  this  discussion.  But  the 
usual  mode  of  explaining  the  subject  must  first  be  no- 
ticed. 

SECTION"  IV. —  The  Common  Theory  Considered. 

299.  The  common  theory,  with  those  who  acknowl- 
edge one  parentage,  is  that  the  differences  among  men, 
are  the  result  of  climate,  mode  of  life,  peculiar  diseases, 
&c. 

Dr.  Good,  in  his  ''  Book  of  Nature,''  states  and  defends 
this  theory,  in  a  manner  that  may  be  given  as  a  fair  sam- 
ple of  others,  having  the  same  opinions.  We  will  make 
some  quotations  from  this  author.  In  respect  to  color  he 
says  :  "  All  the  deepest  colors  we  are  acquainted  with, 
are  those  of  hot  climates  ;  and  all  the  lighter  colors   of 

c(jld  ones The  same  remark  will  apply  to  plants, 

as  well  as  to  animals  ;  .  .  .  hence  the  beasts,  birds, 
flowers,  and  even  fishes,  of  the  equatorial  regions,  are 
uniformly  brighter,  and  deeper  tinctured  in  their  spots, 
their  feathers,  their  petals,  and  their  scales,  than  we  find 

them  in  any  other  part  of  the  world Hence,  too, 

the  reason  why  the  Asiatic  and  African  women,  confined 
to  the  walls  of  their  seralios,  are  as  white  as  Europeans  ; 
why  Moorish  children  of  both  sexes  are  at  first  usually 
fair,  and  why  the  fairness  continues  among  the  girls,  but 
is  soon  lost  among  the  boys.  As  we  approach  towards 
the  poles  we  find  everything  progressively  whiten  ;  bears, 
foxes,  hares,  falcons,  crows,  and  black-birds,  all  assume 
the  same  common  livery.  The  immediate  matter  of  color 
is  the  mucous  pigment  which  forms  the  middle  layer  of 
the  general  integument  of  the  skin  ;  and  upon  this  the 
sun  in  hot  climates  appears  to  act  in  a  two-fold  manner, 
at  first,  by  the  direct  affinity  of  its  calorific  rays,  with  the 
oxygen  of  the  animal  surface  in  consequence  of  which, 
the  oxygen  is  detached  and  flies  off,  and  the  carbon  and 
hj^drogen,  being  set  at  liberty,  form  a  more  or  less  per- 
fect charcoal,  according  to  the  nature  of  their  union  :  and 
next,  by  the  indirect  influence  which  its  calorific  rays, 
like  many  other  stimulants,  produce  upon  the  liver,  by 


166  THE  CREATION  CONSIDERED. 

exciting  it  to  a  secretion  of  more  abundant  bile,  and  of  a 
deeper  hue."     p.  205. 

300.  Dr.  Good  adds,  as  showing  the  reason  why  in  cold 
climates,  some  persons  are  more  swarthy  than  otiiers, 
that  the  pigment  of  the  skin,  above  referred  to,  is  more 
abundant  in  some  persons  than  others.  Besides  the  etiect 
of  climate  on  color,  the  same  author  remarks,  that  "  oils 
and  spirits  produce  a  peculiar  excitement  of  the  liver, 
and  like  the  calorific  rays  of  the  sun,  usually  become 
the  means  of  throwing  out  an  overcharge  of  bile  into 
circulation."  The  difierence  in  form  and  features,  he 
thinks,  ma}^  have  been  the  result,  to  some  extent,  of 
lapsus  naturag.  Hence  he  adds,  ''EveuAvhen  accident, 
or  a  cause  we  may  not  discover,  has  produced  a  pre- 
ternatural conformation,  or  defect,  in  a  particular  organ, 
it  is  astonishing  to  behold  how  readily  it  is  often  copied 
by  the  generative  principle,  and  how  tenaciously  it 
adheres  to  the  future  lineage.  A  preternatural  defect 
upon  the  hands  or  the  feet,  has  been  propagated  for  many 
generations.  In  like  manner,  in  all  probability,  from 
some  primary  accident,  resulted  the  peculiar  shape  of  the 
head  and  face,  in  most  nations,  as  well  as  most  families.'' 
p.  208. 

301.  The  effect  of  different  habits  and  modes  of  life, 
upon  the  form  and  features,  is  alluded  to  as  follows  :  — 
"  The  whole  difierence  between  the  cranium  of  the  negro 
and  that  of  the  European,  is,  in  no  respect,  greater  than 
that  which  exists  between  the  cranium  of  the  wild  boar, 
and  that  of  the  domestic  swine.  M.  Blumenback  .  .  .  has 
completely  succeeded  in  showing,  that  the  swine  genus, 
even  in  countries  where  we  have  historical  and  undenia- 
ble proofs,  as  especially  in  America,  of  its  being  derived 
from  one  common  and  imported  stock,  exhibits  in  its  dif- 
ferent varieties,  distinctions,  not  only  as  numerous  and 
astonishing,  but,  so  far  as  relates  to  the  exterior  form, 
of  the  very  same  kind,  as  are  to  be  met  within  the  differ- 
ent varieties  of  the  human  species."  p.  208.  The  doctor 
humorously  remarks  that  the  argument  for  the  plurality 
of  races,  is,  at  best,  but  skin  deep. 

302.  That  the  climate,  and  especially  the  mode  of  life, 
do  produce  a  marked  effect  upon  men  and  animals,  is  well 
known  and  universally  conceded.     The  same  is  true  of 


THE   CREATION    CONSIDERED.  167 

trees  and  plants.  But  that  this  fact  sufficiently  accounts 
for  all  the  diflerences  in  the  human  race,  may  not  be  quite 
BO  evident.  A  person  residing  at  the  north,  will  become 
darker,  in  a  certain  degree,  by  a  residence  in  a  southern 
climate  ;  but  the  change  is  not  great,  nor  continued,  so 
far  as  we  know,  beyond  certain  limits.  Nor  indeed  is  the 
change  greater  than  we  all  experience,  in  the  same  cli- 
mate, by  an  unusual  exposure  to  the  sun  and  wind.  Such 
change  is  very  sudden,  being  produced  in  a  single  day  or 
two,  and  obliterated  nearly  as  soon. 

303.  The  mode  of  life,  too,  has  its  effect,  as  the  differ- 
ence between  the  domestic  and  the  wild  horse,  between 
the  ox  and  the  bison,  the  wild  boar  and  the  domestic 
swine,  the  fruit  trees  found  in  the  wilderness,  and  those 
cultivated  in  our  fields,  does  clearly  indicate.  But  this, 
too,  will  not  satisfy  every  one  as  explaining  the  varieties 
of  the  human  race  ;  for  persons,  very  unlike  in  form  and 
features,  are  possessed  of  very  similar  habits  and  mode 
of  life  ;  and  when  the  mode  of  life  has  been  substantially 
the  same  for  centuries,  the  differences  in  other  respects, 
have  not  been  obliterated.  The  negro,  who  has  lived  in 
the  same  climate  with  the  white  man,  for  hundreds  of 
years,  and  has  had  nearly  the  same  mode  of  life,  is  still  a 
negro,  and  so  far  as  we  can  discover  is  unchanged  and 
likely  to  remain  so. 

304.  A  writer  in  the  Democratic  Review  for  September, 
1851,  has  some  facts  and  arguments  that  seem  worthy  of 
serious  consideration.  They  do  not  indeed  exactly  har- 
monize with  those  of  Dr.  Good,  but  we  think  they  are 
more  reliable  in  those  particulars  wherein  they  differ. 

"  Previous  to  the  settlement  of  the  Europeans  on  this 
continent  throughout  its  whole  length,  from  the  cold 
regions  of  the  north,  to  those  of  the  southern  continent, 
it  was  inhabited  by  a  race,  or  a  variety  of  races,  nearly 
resembling  each  other,  in  color,  and  with  few  exceptions, 
in  their  general  appearance,  though  differing  widely  in 
their  mode  of  life  and  degree  of  civilization.  The  uniform- 
it}^  of  color  indeed  approaches  to  monotony.  Those  who 
occupy  the  mountains,  and  those  who  occupy  the  plains, 
are  the  same."  This  author  bases  his  statements  on  the 
authority  of  Humboldt,  than  which  none   can  be  better. 


168  THE    CREATION    CONSIDERED. 

"The  Indians  that  remain  in  the  country,  retain  the 
marks  that  distinguished  their  ancestors,  although  an 
entire  change  has  come  over  their  condition." 

305.  What  is  here  stated,  will  not  be  disputed  by  any 
one  ;  and  if  there  was  nothing  else  to  refute  the  theory  of 
varieties  in  the  race,  from  climate  and  mode  of  life, 
this  single  fact  would  be  sufficient.  The  Indians  are 
everywhere  the  same,  and  have  been  so,  for  centuries, 
in  spite  of  climate  and  mode  of  life.  The  same  is  true  of 
the  Spaniards  in  this  country.  ''In  the  vast  regions, 
peopled  from  Spain,  from  40  degrees  south  to  40  north, 
the  Spaniard  is  everywhere  to  be  met  with."  And  the 
Spaniard  of  this  country,  is  precisel}^  like  the  Spaniard  of 
Europe,  irrespective  of  climate  and  mode  of  life.  It  is 
obvious,  too,  that  the  climate  of  England,  France,  Spain 
and  Italy,  in  Europe,  is  slightly  unlike  ;  but  the  people, 
it  is  well  known,  are  more  unlike  than  the  climate.  In 
Asia  ''  we  find  the  whole  body  of  the  population,  of  a  dark 
color,  not  indeed  resembling  the  negro,  but  very  far  from 
the  complexion  of  the  European,  even  in  parallel  latitudes. 
The  Monguls,  notwithstanding  their  high  latitude,  (40  to 
50  north)  are  of  a  dingy  complexion  ;  while  the  Tartars, 
extending  south  to  the  southern  seas,  are  of  a  light  com- 
plexion. In  the  southern  part  of  the  Mongul  region, 
(say  40  north,)  is  Caucasus,  the  inhabitants  of  which, 
have  the  perfection  of  the  European  form  and  complexion. 
The  Persians,  between  the  tropic  of  Cancer  and  40  north, 
are  from  an  olive  to  a  dark  brown.  The  Chinese,  same 
latitude,  are  a  faint  yellow.  In  Hindostan,  (8  to  36 
north,)  there  is  a  considerable  variation  of  color,  such  as 
might  be  easily  allowed  to  climate.  The  average  com- 
plexion is  darker  than  the  region  above,  but  it  is  lighter 
still  than  the  average  of  Arabia,  the  bulk  of  which  country 
is  farther  to  the  north  than  that  of  Hindostan.  The 
peninsula  of  Malacca  is  inhabited  by  a  people  who  are 
darker  than  the  southern  Arabs,  being  20  degrees  farther 
north,  and  are  darker  than  the  Malays  at  the  equator." 

306.  This  we  suppose  is  a  fair  and  reliable  description 
of  the  people  of  Asia  ;  and  it  will  be  seen  that  the  com- 
plexion of  the  different  tribes  and  nations,  dwelling  in 
that  part  of  the  globe,  does  not  correspond  with  climate. 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  169 

If  in  some  instances  the  color  varies  with  the  temperature, 
as  in  Hindostan  and  Arabia,  this  circumstance  is  merely 
accidental,  as  no  such  thing  can  be  affirmed  of  the  country 
generally.  The  dark  complexion  is  found  in  the  north,  as 
well  as  in  the  south  ;  and  in  parallel  latitudes,  the  com- 
plexion is  very  unlike  ;  and  it  not  unfrequently  occurs 
that  a  lighter  complexion  is  joined  with  a  hotter  chmate. 

307.  How  is  it  with  Africa  ?     The  writer  before  quoted 

gays  ;  —  "  Africa has  almost  as  great  variation 

of  color,  as  the  other  sections,  and  there  mixed  up  with 
even  less  conformity  to  the  degrees  of  temperature. 
There  are  found  on  the  Slave  Coast,  as  ic  is  called,  the 
blackest  and  most  degraded  of  the  negro  tribes  ;  yet  in 
the  same  region  we  find  tribes,  as  difterent  from  these,  as 
any  in  Africa,  except  the  Moorish  races  on  the  Mediter- 
ranean. The  Ashantee  people,  near  the  Gold  Coast, 
(6  to  8  north,)  are  lighter  colored,  and  better  featured, 
than  most  of  the  negro  tribes  of  the  whole  continent. 
They  have  oval  faces,  and  their  hair  curled  rather  than 
woolly.     They  have  also  some  degree  of  civilization. 

308.  Senegambia  is  on  the  coast  west  of  Soudan,  and 
in  the  same  latitude.  The  people  are  mostly  full  negroes. 
In  the  midst  of  them,  however,  are  large  tribes  of  Foulahs, 
extending  from  the  Gambia  river,  in  10  degrees  north, 
southward  to  Cape  Palmas,  (Liberia,)  5  south,  in  a  nearly 
savage  state,  who  have  black,  or,  as  some  say,  merely  a 
tawny  complexion,  straight,  silky  hair,  regular  and 
pleasing  features,  totally  unlike  those  of  the  negro.  They 
are  said  even  to  resemble  the  symmetrical  and  delicate 
form  of  the  Hindoos.  The  higher  classes  are  the  blackest, 
the  lower,  or  the  slaves,  are  the  whitest. 

309.  Desert  of  Sahara.  Here,  though  we  meet  with 
all  the  varieties,  the  prevailing  character  is  the  Arab, 
which  all  the  severity  of  desert  life,  is  not  able  to  convert 
into  a  negro.  The  Touricks,  who  comprise  the  largest 
class  of  native  Africans,  are  of  the  complexion  of  the 
Arabs,  generally  brown,  or  almost  white.  Egypt  has 
always  had  different  races.  The  Nubians  have  oval  faces, 
curved  nose,  thick  (but  not  negro)  lips,  frizzled  (but  not 
woolly)  hair,  brown  complexion,  and  fine  form.     Abys* 

8 


170  THE  CREATION  CONSIDERED. 

sinians  are  the  blackest  people  of  Africa,   excepting  the 
negroes  of  the  west  coast," 

Parkins  (Life  in  Abyssinia,)  says  of  these  people:  — 
*'  In  color,  some  of  them  are  perfectly  black,  but  the 
majority  are  brown,  or  a  very  light  copper  or  nut  color ; 
but  men  and  women  are  remarkably  well  formed,  and  in 
general  handsome,  often  strikingly  so.  In  features,  as  in 
form,  the  young  Abyssinian  women  are  perhaps  the  most 
beautiful  of  any  on  earth."  "  Again,  the  people  of  Ajan 
(continues  the  author  first  quoted)  have  hair,  long  and 
black,  dark  eyes,  brown  skin,  and  European  features. 

310.  East  Coast  of  Africa,  south  of  the  equator.  The 
people  are  next  to  brutes,  but  they  are  whiter  than  the 
Arabians  or  Hindoos.  The  complexion  here  grows  darker, 
in  receding  from  the  heat,  but  there  is  no  resemblance  to 
negroes.  Thosein  the  southern  part  of  this  region,  are  of 
the  Caffre  race,  and  of  elegant  symmetry,  almost  European 
features.  West  Coast.  The  people  of  Congo,  although 
black,  have  no  sign  of  negro  features.  Their  faces  resem- 
ble the  Caucassian,  hair  of  a  reddish  brown  color.  This  is 
pretty  nearl}^  the  character  of  the  rest  of  those  regions. 
They  are  in  a  low  state  of  civilization.  Hottentots  are 
of  a  yellowish  brown,  and  some  tribes  are  of  a  red  or 
copper  color 

311.  In  the  Pacific  Islands,  the  black  and  brown  arc 
both  found,  many  times,  in  the  same  localities,  but  quite 
separate.  The  brown  race  have  long,  black,  shiny  hair, 
eyes  brilliant  and  full  of  fire,  great  mental  energy,  and 
determined  character.  Van  Diemen's  Land  is  inhabited 
by  regular  negroes:  New  Zealand,  by  Malays,  tall,  well 
formed,  black  eyes,  and  intelligent.  Marquesas,  finely 
formed,  and  active  population.  Sandwich  Islands,  com- 
plexion dark  olive.  That  the  Oceanic  races  have  long 
lived  together,  as  they  are  found,  is  a  fact  admitting  not 
the  slightest  doubt."  Of  course,  the  same  climate  and 
mode  of  life,  ought  to  have  made  them  alike,  if  such  a 
result  could  be  expected  from  such  a  cause. 

312.  It  may  be  remarked  in  general,  that  though  ne- 
groes have  been  traced  from  the  nortli  of  Asia  to  the 
south,  and  thence  to  E^ypt,  and  other  parts  of  Africa, 
they  are  everywhere  the  same.  In  Egypt  the  whites  and 
blacks  have  always  kept  distinct.     The  children  of  Israel 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  171 

in  ancient  times,  after  a  sojourn  in  Egypt  of  two  hundred 
years,  went  up  out  of  that  land  every  whit  unchanged. 
So  all  over  the  world,  the  same  Hebrew  people,  formerly 
and  now,  are  easily  distinguished.  The  Mamelukes  in 
EffVPt,  after  260  years,  were  still  very  unlike  the  Egyp- 
tians Tartars  are  the  same  in  the  north  of  Asia,  and  in 
the  south.  So  the  Arabs  at  home,  and  in  the  desert. 
The  Moors,  in  the  Barbary  States„and  the  Moors  in  bpain, 
are  the  same,  after  a  separation  of  a  thousand  years 
The  Normans  and  Saxons  in  England,  not  very  unlike  at 
first  retained  their  separate  identity  for  a  long  time,  bo 
all  European  nations  in  America,  are  the  same  as  they  are 
at  home. 

313  In  view  of  all  these  facts,  what  shall  we  say  of 
the  cause  or  causes  that  have  produced  the  actual  diQer- 
ences  among  men  ?  Climate  and  mode  of  life  will  not 
suffice  to  answer  this  question  ;  nor,  on  the  other  hand 
need  we  suppose  a  diflerent  original  parentage  to  each 
variety. 

SECTION  v.— True  Theory. 

314.  We  propose  a  theory  for  removing  the  difficulties 
of  this  subject,  that  is  perhaps  new.  It  is  so  at  least  to 
us  But  we  hope  it  may  receive  a  candid  examination, 
an'd  not  be  rejected  till  a  better  is  found.  It  seems  to  us 
to  offer  the  best,  and  indeed  the  only  satisfactory  solu- 
tion, of  the  great  question  we  have  been  discussing.       ^ 

We  know  that  children  are  not  entirely  hke  then- 
parents,  nor  like  each  other,  and  are  not  expected  to  be. 
Some  will  possess  a  lighter,  and  some  a  darker  com- 
plexion;  some  will  have  a  higher  forehead,  and  some  a 
lower;  some  will  be  taller,  and  some  not  so  tall.  Ihe 
color  and  texture  of  the  hair  will  differ,  as  well  as  the 
skin.  And  if  this  be  true  now,  as  we  know  it  is  the 
same  thing  may  be  presumed  of  the  first  famihes  ot  the 
earth.  This  being  admitted,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to 
conclude,  that  the  differences,  at  first  slight,  would  be 
enlarged,  and  become  more  marked  in  different  individ- 
uals and  families.  If  a  son,  for  instance,  were  darker 
than  his  father,  there  would  be  just  as  good  reason  why 
the  grandson  should  be  darker  still,  as  there  was  that  the 


172  THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED. 

son  should  be.  So  we  may  go  on,  till  we  come  to  the 
darkest  face  to  be  found  among  men.  The  same  may  be 
concluded  of  any  other  peculiarity. 

315.  1  know  that  what  is  here  supposed  would  not  be, 
without  a  special  reason.  If  all  colors  and  forms,  slightly 
different,  were  kept  continually  mixed,  the  extremes 
would  not  be  likely  to  be  far  separated.  But  such  mix- 
ture has  not  been,  and  as  men  are,  could  not  be  expected. 
Sympathy,  on  the  one  hand,  and  prejudice  on  the  other, 
w^ould  lead  to  classes  or  castes.  "  Birds  of  a  feather 
will  flock  together;"  and  the  principle  has  prevailed  in 
the  past,  as  far  back  as  history  goes,  as  much  as  it  pre- 
vails in  the  present.  And  castes,  once  formed,  to  what- 
ever peculiarity  they  might  relate,  would  not  be  easily 
broken  up.  The  tendency  would  be  rather  to  raise  the 
partition  walls  ;  and  the  peculiarity  that  first  led  to  the 
separation,  whatever  it  might  be,  would  naturally  become 
more  and  more  prominent  indefinitely.  If  it  were  color, 
the  whitest  would  associate  together,  and  so  would  the 
blackest ;  and  the  tendency  would  be  to  increase  the 
whiteness  on  the  one  hand,  and  the  blackness  on  the 
other.  True,  some  would  disregard  existing  prejudices  ; 
and  this  would  throw  in,  between  the  extremes,  shades 
of  color  that  would  lessen  the  contrast ;  as  the  same 
thing  is  done  at  the  present  day,  still,  the  general  ten- 
dency would  not  be  broken  up,  as  such  instances  would 
be,  as  they  now  are,  rare  exceptions  to  a  general  rule. 

316.  In  our  view,  the  main  cause  of  existing  varieties 
in  the  human  race,  is  the  influence  of  caste  ;  though,  of 
course,  we  must  suppose,  as  before  shown,  an  original 
tendency  to  produce  slight  differences.  This,  to  us, 
appears  to  explain  the  whole  thing.  The  animals  are  not 
like  us,  for  the  reason  that  they  have  no  sympathy  or 
prejudice,  founded  on  such  considerations.  Our  cattle 
associate  together,  irrespective  of  color,  size,  shape  of 
the  head,  or  length  of  the  foot.  Still,  I  can  easily  sup- 
pose, that,  should  they  get  a  prejudice  against  each 
other,  on  account  of  color  ;  the  red  for  instance,  declar- 
ing that  they  will  not  intermarry  or  associate  with  the 
brown,  and  should  carry  out  this  resolution  for  a  few  gen- 
erations, each  excluding  at  once,  any  and  every  unlucky 


THE   CREATION   CONSIDERED.  173 

new-comer,  that  was  not  red  enough  or  brown  enough, 
to  suit  the  popular  taste  ;  the  result  would  at  length  be, 
that  the  ofispring  of  the  red,  would  be  red,  and  that  of 
the  brown,  would  be  brown  ;  and  the  tendency  would 
finally  become  so  fixed  and  permanent,  that  variatiojis 
from  the  common  standard,  would  be  exceedingly  rare  or 
disappear  altogether. 

317.  This  theory  harmonizes  perfectly  with  the  facts 
that  have  already  been  adduced.  How  can  two  races 
exist  together,  in  the  same  locality  for  ages,  except  on 
the  principle  here  laid  di^wn  ?  We  know  with  certainty 
that  if  they  should  mingle  together,  their  separate  pecu- 
liarities would  disappear.  Such  is  the  result,  wherever 
such  a  cause  exists  to  induce  it,  and  to  the  extent  to 
which  it  prevails  ;  and  where  it  prevails  sufficiently,  all 
distinction  is  ultimately  lost,  as  is  illustrated  by  our 
ancestors,  the  Normans  and  Saxons,  and  as  is  being 
illustrated  continually  before  our  eyes,  by  the  intermin- 
gling, in  our  country,  of  the  nations  and  races  from  the 
old  world. 

It  is  well  for  us,  as  Christian  believers,  to  hesitate  a 
long  time,  before  we  give  up,  as  unreliable,  the  teach- 
ings of  the  Bible,  or  put  on  those  teachings  a  forced  con- 
struction, not  demanded  by  existing  facts.  The  unity  of 
the  race,  we  think,  imposes  upon  us  no  necessity  of 
doing  either  of  these  things. 


174  THE   DELUGE    CO.NblDEKED. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  DELUGE  CONSIDEHED   WITH  llEFERENCE  TO  THE 
FACTS  OP  GEOLOGY. 

Contents  :  —  Moral  Cause  of  the  Deluge  ;  Physical  Cause  of  the 
])clu<;^e  ;  Possibility  of  the  Deluge  ;  Probability  of  the  Deluge  ; 
Proofs  of  the  Deluge  ;  The  Ark  ;  Number  of  Ar.imals  in  the  Ark  ; 
Food  during  the  Flood;  Duration  of  the  Flood;  Mountains 
of  Ararat. 

318.  The  account  of  the  deluge,  as  well  as  that  of  cre- 
ation, will  be  sustained  or  set  aside,  in  most  minds,  mainly, 
according'  as  it  may  seem  to  agree  or  disagree  with  the 
facts  of  Geology.  We  believe  that  Geology,  so  far  from 
setting  aside  the  fact  of  a  deluge,  furnishes  strong  confir- 
mation to  that  event  :  and  this  is  one  of  the  things  we 
propose  to  show.  There  are  several  particulars  connected 
with  this  event,  that  may  be  noticed  separately,  as  the 
best  mode  of  giving  a  complete  view  of  the  whole  subject. 

SECTION  I.  —  Moral  Cause  of  the  Deluge. 

This  is  stated  by  the  writer  thus  : —  S 

CHAP.  VL 


5.  IT  And  God  saw  that  the  wick- 
edness of  man  was  great  in  the 
earth,  and  iJiat  every  imagination 
of  the  thoughts  of  his  heart  was 
only  evil  continually. 

6  And  it  repented  the  Lord  that 
lie  had  made  man  on  the  earth,  and 


8.  But  Noah  found  grace  in  the 
eyes  of  the  Lord. 

11.  The  earth  was  also  corrupt 
before  God ;  and  the  earth  was  filled 
with  violence. 

12.  And  God  looked  upon  the 
earth ,  and,  behold,  it  was  corrupt: 


it  irricvc-d  him  at  his  heai't.  |  for  all  flesh  had  corrupted  his  way 

7.  And  the  Loud  said,  I  will  dc-  :  upon  the  earth, 
stroy  man  whom  I  have  created  |  13.  And  God  said  unto  Noah, 
from  the  face  of  the  earth;  both  The  end  of  all  flesli  is  come  before 
mm,  andbe;ist,  and  the  creeping  me;  for  the  earth  is  filled  witli  \io- 
thin<_-,  and  the  fowls  of  the  air;  for  ence  through  them  ;  and,  behold, 
it  ropenteth  me  that  I  have  made  |  I  will  destroy  them  with  the  earth, 
them.  ' 

319.  That  outward  physical  events  are  at  all  occasioned 
by  moral  considerations,  on  the  part  of  the  Creator,  seems 
to   be   no   part   of  the  prevailing  philosophy  of  modern 


THE  DELUGE  CONSIDEEED.  1"5 

times     Much  of  the  philosophy  of  modern  times,  however 
is  philosophy  "falsely  so  called."     He   who   made  the 
«hv    cal  worid,  made  also  the  moral  ;  and  both  are  msep- 
a  ile  oarts  of  one  great  system.     Every  physical  event 
ha    its'^moral  b.arin|s  ;  and  if  this  be  trne,  it  is  a  clear 
dicf  te  oTreason,  that  such  moral  bearings  were  intended 
bv  the  Creator  ;  and  that  the  cause  was  set  in  operati-m 
wU  a  v[ew  to  the  foreseen  result.     Who  does  not  know 
th'    mli's  physical  organization  has  much  to  do  with  his 
moral   character  ?  and  that  the   latter  has  no  less  to  do 
vvUh  his   physical  condition  ?     Here,  then,  is  an  obvious 
CO  mection   between  the  physical  and  the  moral  worid,  in 
respect  to  'the  individual ;  and  surely  a  no  less  real  con- 
nectUm  exists  between  the  race,  and  the  universe,  outs.de 
and  a-ound  us.      It   is  not  sound  philosophy  to  separate 
what'odhas  so  obviously  joined  t°f 'h;-     I  ^-^J-f 
that  could  we  understand  the  counsels  of  the  Most  Higti, 
we  should  plainly  discover,  that  most  of  what  is  done  in  tiie 
outward  world,  is  induced  by  moral  considerations,     llie 
s  n  shiMand  the  rain  falls,  not  wholly  to  give  seed  to 
t  "  Bower  and  bread  to  the  eater  but,  throngh  these  ben- 
efactions, to  lead  intelligent  '"/"'^^  "P;  t'''-°."g^?  "t,  "\!  of 
nature's  God,   and  thus  to  elevate  them  in  the  sea  e  ot 
mtaland  spiritual  excellence.     And  if  the  outward  Wcss- 
ino-s  of  life    have  an  ulterior  moral  purpose  it  is  quite  as 
reasonable  to  conclude,  that  outward  aiBictions  are  em- 
ployed for  the  punishment  of  sin,  to  correct  our  faults  and 
improve  our  .virtues. 

SECTIO>f  H.  —The  Physical  Cacse  of  the  Deluge. 

320  This  is  expressed  by  the  sacred  writer  thus,  — 
"  All  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  were  broken  up,  and 
the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened,  vu.  U  ihe  way 
in  which  the  deluge  is  regarded  by  most  people,  is,  that 
it  was  occasioned  by  along  continued  outpouring  from  the 
skies.  In  their  estimation  it  was  the  rain  that  caused 
the  flood.  Hence,  when  the  opposers  of  the  Bible  ha^e 
shown,  that  all  the  rain  in  the  clouds  could  "O*  hr.?.P!°: 
ducedsuch  a  result,  the  honest,  but  nmnformed  believer 
has  no  sufiScient  reply  to  make.     Fortunate  indeed  it  is  for 


176  THE  DELUGE    CONSIDERED. 

such  an  one,  if  he  comes  to  the  conclusion  that  there  may  be 
some  things,  connected  with  this  subject,  that  he  does  not 
fully  understand,  though  he  may  not  tell  precisely  wliat 
they  are.  In  this  case  he  will  w^isely  hold  on  to  his  faith, 
and  wait  for  more  light ;  or  rather  not  wait,  but  go  in 
pursuit  of  it. 

321.  "All  the  fountains  of  the  great  deep  were  brok- 
en up."  The  true  interpretation  of  this  language,  we 
conceive  to  be,  that  there  was  such  a  breaking  up  of  the 
earth's  crust,  as  to  allow  the  waters  of  the  ocean,  or 
"great  deep,"  to  overflow  the  land.  There  was  an 
upheaval  of  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  and  a  depression,  or 
subsidence,  of  the  dry  land  ;  and  thus  the  whole  surface 
was  covered  with  water  —  not  perhaps  at  the  same 
moment,  but  within  the  time  during  which  the  flood  was 
continued.  The  effect  was  increased,  to  some  extent,  by 
the  rain  from  heaven. 

322.  Now  we  take  upon  ourself  to  say,  that  there  is 
nothing  unreasonable  in  the  idea  that  such  an  event,  as 
here  described,  did  really  occur,  aside  from  the  positive 
testimony  in  favor  of  its  truth.  We  know,  indeed,  that 
sundry  objections  have  been  brought  against  a  universal 
deluge  ;  and  sundry  expedients  have  been  resorted  to,  to 
meet  these  objections.  By  some  the  language  of  the 
writer  has  been  regarded  as  highly  figurative  ;  and  we 
are  told  that  we  must  understand  it  with  reasonable  and 
judicious  limitations  ;  and  some  analogous  expressions, 
evidently  employed  in  a  limited  sense,  are  referred  to,  for 
confirmation  of  this  view.  But  w^e  propose  to  show, 
that  there  is  nothing  unreasonable  in  a  deluge,  with  the 
most  extended  construction  that  can  be  put  upon  the 
phraseology  by  which  it  is  described. 

SECTION  III.  —  Of  the  Possibility  of  a  Deluge. 

323.  In  the  first  place,  we  know  abstractly,  that  all 
things  are  possible  with  God  ;  but  w^e  do  not  rely  on  this 
abstract  truth.  We  prefer  to  note  particular  facts  that 
are  fitted  to  make  out  our  case.  One  of  these  facts  is, 
that  there  was  water  enough  in  the  clouds,  and  on 
the  earth,  to  have  produced  a  universal  deluge.     Some 


THE  DELUGE   CONSIDERED.  177 

have  thought  otherwise,  and  have  sought  for  various 
methods  to  account  for  the  fact,  on  other  grounds.  One 
theory  supposes  a  condensation  of  the  atmosphere,  which, 
we  know,  extends  far  above  the  earth,  and  may  or  may 
not  be  suflScient  to  produce  the  result.  One  eminent 
philosopher  thinks  that  the  tail  of  a  cumet,  passing  nenr 
the  earth,  at  that  time,  became  condensed,  and  occasioned 
the  deluge,  though  I  am  not  informed  how  the  water  was 
disposed  of  afterwards. 

324.  Leaving  these  theories,  we  will  offer  well  attested 
facts  in  their  place.  We  have  before  shown  that  Geol- 
ogists give  their  testimony  in  favor  of  the  Bible,  in  re- 
spect to  another  point,  by  saying  that  there  was  a  time, 
when  the  whole  surface  of  our  globe  was  covered  with 
water.  The  facts  of  Geology  cannot  be  accounted  for  on 
any  other  supposition.  It  is  plain,  then,  that  the  same 
water  that  covered  the  earth  once,  would  be  sufficient  to 
cover  it  again  The  same  Power  from  which  issued  the 
imndate,  "  Let  the  waters  be  gathered  together  into  one 
place,"  could  reverse  this  order — could  depress  the  dry 
land,  upheave  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  and  overspread  the 
whole  earth  with  a  flood. 

325.  Again  ;  it  is  well  known  that  most  of  the  earth's 
surface  is  now,  and  always  has  been,  nearly  overspread 
with  water.  The  proportion  of  dry  land  to  water,  is  less 
than  one  to  two.  A  slight  depression  of  the  dry  land, 
therefore,  if  such  a  thing  be  admitted  as  possible,  would 
now  occasion  a  universal  deluge. 

The  common  opinion  seems  to  be,  that  the  depth  of  the 
ocean  corresponds  with  the  height  of  the  land  — that  the 
lowest  depths  and  the  highest  mountains,  are  nearly  equal 
in  extent  But  recent  experiments  have  shown  that  the 
depth  of  the  ocean  far  exceeds  this  estimate.  A  French 
author  (Guyot,  "  Earth  and  Man")  says  on  this  subject ; 
"  The  interior  of  the  basins  of  the  oceans,  is  unequal, 
generally  deeper  than  toward  the  borders.  The  greatest 
observed  depths  are  found  in  the  middle  region  of  the 
Atlantic.  They  equal,  or  surpass  by  several  thousand 
feet,  the  elevation  of  the  highest  mountains  of  the  globe. 
The  mean  depth  of  the  basin  of  the  oceans,  seems  to  be 
much  more  considerable  than  the  mean  elevation  of  the 
8^ 


178  THE   DELUGE    CONSIDERED. 

continents  above  their  surface."  p.  91.  This  author  gives 
the  different  sounding's  of  experimenters  as  foUows  ;  7,200 
feet,  6,000,  7,800,  13,000,  10,800,  27,000,  16,000,  34,200. 
This  last  number  exceeds  the  highest  mountain  on  the 
globe,  b}^  nearly  10,000  feet.  La  Place  thinks  that  the 
greatest  depth  of  the  ocean,  is  about  11  miles.  In  view 
of  these  facts,  it  is  not  only  obvious  that  there  is  water 
enough  on  the  globe,  to  produce  a  universal  deluge  ;  but 
a  moderate  elevation  of  the  bed  of  the  ocean,  with  a  slight 
depression  of  the  land,  would  produce  this  result. 

SECTION  IV.— The  Probability  of  a  Deluge. 

326.  A  deluge  is  not  only  possible  ;  but,  in  view  of  the 
statements  of  Geologists,  it  is  an  event  that  may  be  re- 
garded as  exceedingly  probable.  These  men  tell  us  that 
the  depression  of  the  dry  land,  and  the  upheaval  of  the 
bed  of  the  ocean,  has  occurred  many  times,  in  the  past 
history  of  our  globe.  The  evidence  of  this  is  as  conclu- 
sive and  satisfactory  as  any  facts  of  science.  The  rock^ 
strata  that  compose  the  highest  mountains,  were  formed 
under  water.  That  they  have  been  lifted  up,  and  then 
depressed  ;  and  that  this  has  occurred  many  times,  is 
proved  by  fossil  remains  found  in  them,  Avhich  are 
sometimes  those  of  the  water  and  sometimes  those  of 
the  land,  and  which  exist  at  all  heights,  from  the  lowest 
transition  strata,  to  the  upper  or  diluvial  formations. 
This  up  and  down  movement  of  the  earth's  surface  is  one 
of  the  processes  that  attended  the  earl}^  experience  of  our 
globe.  It  was  one  of  these,  the  last  important  one,  that 
produced  the  flood  of  Xoah,  though  the  same  thing  has 
been  done,  on  a  small  scale,  within  the  period  of  authentic 
profane  histor3^  A  few  quotations,  some  of  which  have 
been  used  in  another  place,  will  show  what  Geologists 
have  said  on  this  subject. 

327.  Buckland;  — "The  debris  of  the  first  dry  land, 
being  drifted  into  the  sea,  and  there  spread  out  into 
extensive  beds  of  mud,  sand  and  gravel,  would  forever 
have  remained  beneath  the  surface  of  the  water,  had  not 
other  forces  been  subsequently  employed  to  raise  them 
into  dry  land.     These  forces  seem  to  have  been  the  same 


THE   DELUGE   CONSIDERED.  179 

expansive  powers  of  heat  and  vapor,  which,  having  caused 
the  elevation  of  the  first  raised  portions  of  the  fundamen- 
tal crystaline  rocks,  continued  their  energies  through  all 
succeeding  Geological  epochs,  and  still  exert  them  in 
producing  active  volcanoes."  This  author  adds:  "All 
observers  admit  that  the  strata  were  formed  beneath  the 
water." 

Higgins  :  —  "  The  stratified  rocks  must  originally  have 
been  horizontal,  or  nearly  so  ;  and  many  of  them  were 
formed  in  the  same  manner,  as  the  deposits  which  are 
always  found  in  the  beds  of  rivers  and  the  basins  of  the 
oceans  :  but  they  were  afterwards  acted  upon  by  miglity 

disturbing  forces  that  elevated  and  disrupted  them 

These  eflects  have  been  both  local  and  general,  at  one 
time,  aftecting  a  district  not  more  than  a  few  miles  in 
extent,  at  others,  elevating  entire  continents  and  immense 
mountain  chains."  Buckland,  vol.  I.  p.  42.  Higgins, 
p.  226. 

328.  No  one  can  help  seeing  that  the  elevation  of  an 
entire  continent  would  cause  the  water  to  flow  over  con- 
tinents that  had  before  been  dry  land  ;  and  the  elevation 
of  the  latter,  would,  in  their  turn,  throw  the  water  back 
upon  the  other.  What  is  this  but  a  deluge,  or  rather  a 
succession  of  deluges  ?  And  as  all  parts  of  the  earth 
show  marks  of  these  changes,  there  must  have  been  more 
or  less  of  these  inundations  all  over  the  surface  of  our 
globe. 

329.  Again: — The  relative  position  and  superficial 
extent  of  land  and  water,  have  been  constantly  changing, 
not  slowly  and  imperceptibly  as  at  present,  but  by  the 
activity''  of  causes,  the  effects  of  which,  have  been  almost 
instantaneous,  upheaving  the  bed  of  the  oceans,  and 
deluging  the  drylands."     Higgins,  2*74. 

330.  These  quotations  from  men  of  eminence  in  the 
scientific  world,  will  show  that  a  flood,  such  as  is  described 
in  Genesis,  was  a  very  probable  event.  From  what  the 
earth  had  undergone,  it  was  not  unreasonable  that  a  similar 
event  should  occur  in  the  days  of  Noah,  The  probability 
is  increased,  by  what  has  often  occurred  since.  Extensive 
surfaces  have  arisen  up  from  beneath  the  water,  and  other 
surfaces   have   sunk    and    disappeared.     The   Island   of 


180  THE  DELUGE   CONSIDERED. 

Hieri  rose  up  from  the  sea,  B.  C.  193.  Thia  in  A.  D.  40. 
These  became  united  in  A.  D.  126.  Graham  Island  rose 
from  the  waters  of  the  Mediterranean  sea,  in  1831. 
During  the  earthquake  at  Lisbon,  in  1755,  the  seas  in 
every  part  of  Europe,  were  agitated  ;  and  in  some  places 
became  turbid  and  thick.  Had  the  cause  of  this  agitation 
been  more  active  and  powerful,  as  it  would  have  been  at 
an  earlier  day,  the  whole  of  Europe  would  have  been  sub- 
merged and  formed  the  bed  of  the  ocean.  The  poet,  in 
allusion  to  such  agitations,  has  the  following  graphic 
language  ;  — 

"  Diseased  Nature  often  times  breaks  forth 

In  strange  eruptions  ;   oft  the  teeming  Earth 

Is,  with  a  kind  of  colic,  pinched,  and  vexed. 

By  the  imprisonment  of  unruly  winds 

Within  her  womb,  which,  for  enlargement  striving. 

Shake  the  old  bedlam  Earth,  and  topple 

Down  steeples  and  moss  grown  towers." 

SECTION  v.  — Proofs  of  the  Deluge. 

331.  The  testimony  of  Geologists,  in  favor  of  similar 
changes  with  that  of  the  flood  of  Noah,  we  have  before 
given  ;  and  reasoning  from  analogy,  we  have  deduced 
the  probability  of  such  an  event.  It  may  be  well  to  see 
what  some  of  them  say  expressly  concerning  this  event. 
Cuvier:  — "I  can  concur  with  the  opinion  of  M.  DeLuc 
and  Dolomieu,  that,  if  there  be  anything  determined  in 
Geology,  it  is  that  the  surface  of  our  globe  has  been  sub- 
ject to  a  vast  and  sudden  revolution,  not  longer  ago  than 
five  or  six  thousand  years  ;  that  this  revolution  lias 
buried  and  caused  to  disappear,  the  countries  formerly 
inhabited  by  man,  and  the  species  of  animals  now  most 
known  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  has  left  the  bottom  of 
the  former  sea  dry,  and  has  formed  on  it  the  countries 
now  inhabited."     Comstock's  Geology,  1841. 

Buckland  :  —  "  The  Alps  and  Carpathian,  as  well  as 
every  other  mountainous  region  which  I  have  visited, 
bear  the  same  evidence  of  having  been  modified  by  the 
force  of  waters,  as  do  the  hills  of  the  lower  regions."    lb. 

Professor  Hitchcock: — "The  conclusion  to  which  I 
am  led  irresistibly,  formed   by  an  examination  of  this 


THE   DELUGE   CONSIDERED.  181 

stratum,  (in  Massachusetts,)  is,  that  all  the  diluvinm 
which  has  been  previously  accumulated,  has  been  modi- 
fied by  a  powerful  deluge,  sweeping  from  the  north  and 
north-west,  over  every  part  of  the  state,  not  excepting 
the  highest  mountains.''  Report  of  the  Geology  of 
Massachusetts. 

332.  That  the  earth's  surface  has  sometimes,  not 
many  thousands  of  years  in  the  past,  been  overflowed 
by  a  mighty  inundation,  is  proved  by  the  position  and 
location  of  many  masses  of  rock,  that  have  evidently 
been  moved  from  one  place  to  another  by  this  agency. 
"  In  Sweden  and  Russia,  large  blocks  of  rock  occur  out 
of  place  in  great  numbers ;  and  no  doubt  can  be  enter- 
tained, that  they  have  been  transferred  southward  from  the 
north.  Boulders  have  been  transferred  from  the  Savoy 
Alps,  to  the  Jura,  across  what  is  now  lake  Geneva. 
Professor  Buckland  found  amongst  the  transferred  gravel 
of  Durham,  twenty  varieties  of  slate  and  greenstone, 
which  do  not  occur  in  places  nearer  than  the  lake  dis- 
trict of  Cumberland.  Between  the  Thames  and  the 
Tweed  are  rocks  that  must  have  come  from  the  coast  of 
Norway.  On  the  coast  of  Yorkshire  are  fragments  of 
rocks  that  must  have  come  from  the  coast  of  Norway, 
and  such  as  came  from  the  Highlands  of  Scotland.  In 
East  Lyme,  Ct.,  near  the  road  leading  from  Rope  Ferr}^ 
to  Saybrook,  is  a  huge  block  of  granite,  weighing,  it  is 
estimated,  about  400  tons,  that  was  evidently  carried 
there  from  a  mountain  two  miles  distant.  The  boulders 
of  Plymouth  and  Barnstable  came  from  the  vicinity  of 
Boston  and  Cape  Ann."     Hitchcock. 

333.  Many  other  similar  quotations  might  be  made, 
but  these  are  sufficient.  Whether  what  is  here  described 
took  place  in  the  flood  of  Noah,  may  not  be  certain  :  but 
they  certainly  belong  to  the  same  class  of  changes,  and 
by  their  analogy,  they  furnish  evidence  of  that  event. 
Lyell  supposes  that  deluges  are  a  part  of  the  regular 
order  of  Providence ;  and  he  predicts  an  American 
deluge  about  30000  years  hence. 

334.  There  is  another  branch  of  evidence,  bearing 
upon  this  subject,  to  which  we  are  inclined  to  attach  con- 
siderable importance.  I  refer  to  the  traditions  of  differ- 
ent nations,  concerning  the  deluge.     It  is  quite  remark- 


182  THE   DELUGE    CONSIDERED. 

able  that  the  traditions  found  among  the  most  barbarous 
nations,  as  well  as  those  more  enlightened,  should  show 
a  harmony,  more  or  less  exact,  with  the  facts  of  Geology 
and  the  deductions  of  science.  Yet,  if  the  deluge  be  a 
reality,  the  existing  state  of  things  is  only  what  we  might 
reasonably  expect  ;  and  it  would  be  almost,  if  not  quite, 
as  difficult  to  account  for  these  traditions,  without  a 
deluge  to  have  originated  them,  as  to  account  for  the  facts 
of  Geology,  without  that  event.  Richard  W'atson 
(Theol.  Die.  Art.  Deluge,)  has  the  following  judicious 
remarks,  touching  this  point.  "  Its  magnitude  and  sin- 
gularity could  scarcely  fail  to  make  an  indelible  impres- 
sion on  the  minds  of  the  survivors,  which  would  be 
communicated  from  them  to  their  children,  and  wuuld 
not  be  easily  effaced  from  the  traditions  of  theii  latest 
posterity.  A  deficiency  of  such  traces  of  this  awfwl 
event,  though  it  might  not  serve  entirely  to  invalidate 
our  belief  of  its  reality,  would  certainty  tend  consider- 
ably to  weaken  its  claims  to  credibility  ;  it  being  scarcely 
probable  that  the  knowledge  of  it  should  be  utterly  lost 
to  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  confined  to  the  Jewish 
nation  alone.  What  we  might  reasonably  expect,  has 
been  actually  and  completely  realized."  Traditions  of 
the  flood  are  found  among  the  Greeks,  Egyptians,  Pha3- 
nicians,  Assyrians,  Hindoos,  Chinese,  Otaheitans,  Cubans. 
Peruvians,  Brazilians,  Mexicans,  &c.,  &c. 

335.  Humboldt,  speaking  of  these  traditions,  makes 
the  following  appropriate  and  forcible  remarks :  — 
*'  These  ancient  traditions  of  the  human  race,  which  we 
find  dispersed  over  the  surface  of  the  globe,  like  the 
fragments  of  a  vast  shipwreck,  are  of  the  greatest  interest 
to  the  philosophic  study  of  our  species.  Like  certain 
families  of  plants,  which,  notwithstanding  the  diversities 
of  climate  and  the  influence  of  heights,  retain  their  impress 
of  a  common  type,  the  traditions  concerning  the  prim- 
itive state  of  the  globe,  present,  among  all  nations,  a 
resemblance  that  fills  us  with  astonishment.  So  many 
different  languages,  belonging  to  branches  which  appear 
to  have  no  connection  with  each  other,  transmit  the  same 
facts  to  us.  The  substance  of  the  traditions  respecting 
the  destroyed  races,    and  the  renovation    of  nature,  is 


THE   DELUGE    CONSIDERED.  IbJ 

everywhere  almost  the  same,  although  each  nation  gives 
it  a  local  coloring/'  Humboldt's  Travels,  School  Dis- 
trict Library,  pp.  191,  192. 

336.  In  ancient  times  the  deluge  was  a  matter  of 
record  in  profane  history,  deemed  authentic.  Josophus 
afiirms  that  Berosus,  a  Chaldean  historian,  relates  the  cir- 
cumstances of  a  great  deluge  in  which  all  mankind  perished, 
except  a  few,  and  that  Noachus,  the  preserver  of  tlio 
human  race,  was  carried  in  an  ark  to  the  summit  of  an 
Armenian  mountain.  Josephus  also  states  that  Hiero- 
nimus,  the  Egyptian  historian,  who  wrote  the  antiquities 
of  the  Phoenicians,  and  Nicholas  of  Damascus,  together 
with  other  writers,  speak  of  the  same  deluge.  Likewise 
there  is  a  fragment  preserved  of  Abydemus,  an  ancient 
Assyrian  historian,  in  which  it  is  said,  not  only  that  there 
was  a  deluge,  but  that  it  was  foretold  before  it  happened, 
and  that  birds  were  sent  forth  from  the  ark,  three  difier- 
ent  times,  to  see  whether  the  waters  were  abated. 

337.  In  addition  to  the  opinion  of  Geologists,  the  tra- 
ditions of  all  nations,  and  the  testimony  of  ancient  profane 
historians,  we  have  another  history  that  has  never  been 
impeached,  to  which  we  may  do  well  to  take  heed  •  and 
this  history  is  the  Bible.  And  while  we  give  credit  to 
other  ancient  records,  that  have  by  no  means  been  pre- 
served with  the  same  care,  why  should  we  not  admit  the 
statements  of  this  record,  so  long  as  no  natural  or  histor- 
ical evidence  can  be  adduced  against  it.  If  it  be  said  that 
there  are  natural  reasons  against  it,  we  meet  the  assertion 
with  a  prompt  and  vigorous  denial,  and  appeal  to  facts  to 
sustain  our  position. 

338.  Another  question  presents  itself,  in  connection 
with  the  deluge,  that  some  may  think  more  difficult  than 
the  abstract  reality  of  such  an  event.  I  refer  to  the 
preservation  of  Noah  and  his  family,  together  with  the 
number  of  animals  that  are  said  to  have  been  saved  at 
the  same  time.  On  this  point  several  things  will  be 
noticed. 


184 


THE   DELUGE   CONSIDERED. 


SECTION  VI.— The  Ark. 


CHAP.  VI. 


14.  IT  Make  thee  an  ark  of  gopher 
•wood;  rooms  shalt  thou  make  in 
the  ark,  and  shalt  pitch  it  within 
and  without  with  pitch. 

15.  And  this  is  the  fashion  which 
thou  shalt  make  it  of:  The  length 
of  the  ark  shdll  be  three  hundred 
cubits,  the  breadth  of  it  fifty  cubits, 


and  the  height  of  it  thirty  cubits. 

16.  A  window  shalt  thou  make  to 
the  ark,  and  in  a  cubit  shalt  thou 
finish  it  above;  and  the  door  of  the 
ark  shalt  thou  set  in  the  side  there- 
of; with  lower,  second,  and  third 
stoi'ies  shalt  thou  make  it. 


339.  A  cubit  is  generall}^  thought  to  be  a  foot  and  a 
half  of  our  measure.  Hence  the  ark  must  have  been  450 
feet  in  length,  75  feet  in  breadth,  and  45  feet  in  height,  a 
proportion  of  length,  breadth  and  height,  corresponding 
very  nearly  with  vessels,  at  the  present  day,  that  are  con- 
structed on  strictly  scientific  principles.  That  it  was 
made  in  a  similar  form,  need  not  be  supposed.  Probably 
it  was  not,  as  the  object  had  in  view  was  not  to  move 
from  place  to  place,  requiring  a  form  fitted  to  move  with 
the  least  resistance,  but  simply  to  preserve  alive  its 
inmates.  A  flat  bottom  would  answer  the  purpose  as 
well,  perhaps  better,  and  would  be  of  simpler  construction. 

340.  The  three  stories  of  the  ark  fitted  it  for  containing 
more  burden,  and  for  its  better  distribution,  than  it  other- 
wise could  have  been.  Doubtless  the  common  sense  of 
Noah  was  allowed  its  proper  exercise,  in  the  arrangement 
and  disposition  of  the  lading,  so  that  the  heaviest  would 
be  placed  below,  and  the  lightest  above.  But  whether 
the  ark,  large  as  it  was,  and  conveniently  arranged,  would 
contain  all  that  was  put  into  it,  is  a  question  that  is  not 
very  easily  settled.  We  can  approximate,  we  think,  to 
a  just  conclusion. 


THE   DELUGE   CONSIDERED. 


185 


SECTION  VIT.— Number  of  Animals  in  thr  Ark. 


CHAP.  VI. 

19.  And  of  every  living  thing  of 
all  flesh,  two  of  every  sort  shalt 
thou  bring  into  the  ark,  to  keep 
ihe7n  alive  with  thee  ;  they  shall  be 
male  and  female. 

20.  Of  fowls  after  their  kind,  and 
of  cattle  after  their  kind,  of  every 
creeping  thing  of  the  earth  after  his 
kind,  two  of  every  sort  shall  come 
unto  thee,  to  keep  them  alive. 


CHAP.  VII. 

2.  Ofevery  clean  beast  thou  shalt 
take  to  thee  by  sevens,  the  male 
and  his  female :  and  of  beasts  that 
are  not  clean  by  two,  the  male  and 
his  female. 

3.  Of  fowls  also  of  the  air  by 
sevens,  the  male  and  the  female; 
to  keep  seed  alive  upon  the  face  of 
all  the  earth.         *         *         * 


CHAP.  VII. 


8.  Of  clean  beasts,  and  of  beasts 
that  are  not  clean,  and  of  fowls, 
and  of  every  thing  that  creepeth 
upon  the  earth. 

9.  There  went  in  two  and  two 
unto  Noah  into  the  ark,  the  male 
and  the  female,  as  God  had  com- 
manded Noah. 

10.  And  it  came  to  pass  after 
seven  days,  that  the  waters  of  the 
flood  were  upon  the  earth. 


14.  They,  and  every  beast  after 
his  kind,  and  all  the  cattle  after 
their  kind,  and  every  creeping 
thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth 
after  his  kind,  and  every  fowl  after 
his  kind,  every  bird  of  every  sort, 

15.  And  they  went  in  unto  Noah 
into  the  ark,  two  and  two  of  all 
flesh,  wherein  is  the  breath  of  life. 

16.  And  they  that  went  in,  went 
in  male  and  female  of  all  flesh,  as 
God  had  commanded  him;  and  the 
Lord  shut  him  in.         *  * 


341.  The  opinion  has  been  entertained  by  some,  that 
all  animals  absolutely  were  not  preserved  in  the  ark  —  that 
some  now  extinct,  and  known  to  have  lived  only  by  their 
fossil  remains,  were  then  totally  destroyed.  The  language 
above  quoted  does  not  seem  to  admit  of  any  such  limita- 
tion or  exception.  On  this  subject  we  remark,  that  the 
number  of  animals  originally  upon  the  earth,  was  very 
large.  This  we  know  from  their  fossil  remains  ;  but  most 
of  these  lived  and  perished  long  before  the  flood,  and  in- 
deed long  before  the  creation  of  man.  Those  that  were 
cotemporary  with  man  were  comparatively  few  in  number: 
and  though  they  might  have  become  very  numerous,  at 
the  time  of  the  deluge,  the  number  of  kinds  need  not  be 
so  regarded.  The  kinds  are  not  now  numerous.  Buffon, 
an  eminent  naturalist,  says,  that  all  existing  species 
(aside  from  the  fishes  and  fowls)  can  be  reduced  to  250. 


18G  THE    DELUGE    CONSIDERED. 

Tliis  probaM;,'  lulls  far  bcluw  liio  true  estimate  ;  but,  willi 
all  reasonable  additions,  the  ark  could  have  contained 
them.  But  if  this  were  proved  to  be  impossible,  their. 
is  no  certainty  that  the  number  of  kinds  then,  wer.' 
equal  to  the  present  number :  for  it  is  not  at  all  improba- 
ble that  some  kinds,  perhaps  many,  have  been  created 
since  the  flood.  Geologists  tell  us  that,  during  the  epochs 
of  creation,  there  must  have  been  several  distinct  crea- 
tions of  animals,  each  creation  suited  to  the  condition  of 
the  earth  at  the  time,  and  succeeded  by  another,  as  lh(3 
condition  of  things  required  it.  And  if  this  be  so,  analogy 
would  favor  the  idea,  that  some  animals  may  have  re- 
ceived their  existence  since  the  deluge  :  and  especially 
because  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  the  climate  of  the 
earth,  underwent  a  great  change,  when  the  flood  occurred. 

342.  "  Dr.  Hales  has  proved,"  says  Comstock,  "  that 
the  ark  was  of  a  burden  of  42,413  tons,  as  we  com- 
pute the  tonnage  of  ships  at  the  present  day."  We 
suppose  that  250  pairs,  and  a  much  larger  nuniber,  would 
find  ample  room  in  that  immense  structure.  As  to  the 
largest  animals,  we  may  suppose,  if  we  see  reason  for 
so  doing,  that  the  young  of  these,  and  not  those  full 
grown,  were  selected,  as  securing  the  result  just  as  well. 
But  animals  of  this  kind  are  not  numerous,  as  are  those 
of  a  smaller  size. 

A  few  moments  thought  will  convince  any  one,  that 
the  number  of  arnmals,  said  to  have  been  saved  in  the 
ark,  is  really  no  objection  to  the  truth  or  credibility  of  the 
deluge.  And  though  seven  of  each  kind  of  clean  beasts 
were  saved,  and  two  of  each  kind  of  unclean,  yet  we 
know  that  the  kinds  of  the  former,  are  not  numerous, 
arid  of  the  larger  ones,  the  young  and  small  could  have 
been  selected. 


THE   DELUGE   CONSIDERED.  187 

SECTION  VIIL  —  Food  during  the  Flood. 

CHAP.  VI. 

21.    And  take  thou 'unto  thee  of  I      22.    Thus  did   Noah;   according 
all   food   that   is  eaten,   and  thou  |  to  all  that  God  commanded  him,  so 
fihalt  jjcather  it  to  thee;  audit  shall  i  did  he. 
be  for' food  for  thee,  and  for  them.  | 

343.  It  has  greatly  puzzled  interpreters  to  determine 
why  seven  of  some  animals  were  preserved,  instead  of 
two.  That  Noah  required  clean  beasts  for  the  sacrilice 
he  offered  to  the  Lord,  on  leaving  the  ark,  which  is  the 
usual  reason  given  for  this  procedure,  is  quite  unsatisfac- 
tory. Noah  did  indeed  require  clean  beasts  for  sacrifice, 
but  that  he  required  five  of  every  kind,  is  a  somewhat 
extravagant  supposition.  It  does  not  seem  to  have 
occurred  to  these  expounders,  that  many  animals  are  car- 
nivorous, and  must  have  been  furnished  with  flesh  to  eat. 
And  the  clean  beasts  were  chosen  for  this  purpose,  rather 
than  unclean,  for  the  reason  that  they  could  be  more 
easily  procured,  as  being  less  wild  and  voracious.  It 
may  be  added  here,  that  what  was  deemed  an  objection 
in  one  part  of  the  account,  the  preservation  of  seven 
clean  beasts  instead  of  two,  helps  us  to  remove  another 
objection,  quite  as  formidable,  arising  from  the  amount 
of  food  required  for  their  sustenance,  since,  with  this 
understanding,  a  small  amount  only  of  vegetable  food 
would  be  required. 

SECTION  IX. — Duration  of  the  Flood. 

344.  At  first  view  there  seems  to  be  a  great  want  of 
consecutive  order,  in  the  account  we  have  of  the  flood. 
The  entrance  of  Noah  and  his  faqiilyinto  the  ark,  is  men- 
tioned not  less  than  four  times.  There  is  a  reason  for 
this,  however,  that  may  not  at  first  appear.  The  passages 
that  seem  to  be  repetitions  are  not  precisely  alike :  and 
though  they  might  be  greatly  abridged,  and  every  idea 
be  retained,  yet  we  must  allow  the  writer  to  tell  his  story 
in  his  own  way.  We  place  below  the  passages  side  by 
side :  — 


188 


THE    DELUGE    CONSIDERED. 


CHAP.  VI. 

17.  And  behold  I,  even  I,  do 
Lrinjr  a  flood  of  waters  upon  the 
earth,  to  destroy  all  flesh,  wherein 
is  the  breath  of  life,  from  under 
heavens ;  a7id  every  thing  that  u  in 
the  earth  shall  die. 

18.  But  with  thee  will  I  estab- 
lish mv  covenant;  and  thou  shalt 
come  into  the  ark,  thou,  and  thy 
soiis,  and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons' 
wives  with  thee. 

CHAP, 

5.  And  I^oah  did  according  unto  I 
all  that  the  Lord  commanded  him. 

6.  And  Noah  Avas  six  hundred  I 
years  old  when  the  flood  of  waters  | 
was  upon  the  earth.  I 

7.  T[  And  Noah  went  in,  and  his 
sons,  and  his  wife,  and  his  sons' 
wives  Avith  him,  into  the  ark,  be- 
cause of  the  waters  of  the  flood. 

***** 

11.  In  the  six  hundredth  year  of 
Noah's  life,  in  the  second  month. 


CHAP.  Yir. 
1.  And  the  Loril  said  unto  Noah, 
Come  thou  and  all  thy   house  into 
the  ark  ;  for  thee  have  I  seen  right- 
eous before  me  in  this  generation. 
***** 

4.  For  yet  seven  days,  and  I  will 
cause  it  to  rain  upon  the  earth 
forty  days  and  forty  nights:  and 
every  living  substance  that  I  have 
made  will  I  destroy  from  off  the 
face  of  the  earth. 
.  VII. 

the  seventeenth  day  of  the  month, 
the  same  day  were  all  the  fountains 
of  the  great  deep  broken  up,  and 
the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened. 

12.  And  the  rain  was  upon  the 
earth  forty  days  and  forty  nights, 

13.  In  the  selfsame  day  entered 
Noah,  and  Shem,  and  Ham,  and 
Japheth,  the  sons  of  Noah,  and 
Noah's  wife,  and  the  three  wives 
of  his  sons  with  them  into  the  ark. 


345.  The  first  of  these  passages  contains  an  announce- 
ment of  the  flood  and  the  preservation  of  Noah  and  his 
family.  The  next  commands  Noah  to  go  into  the  ark. 
The  writer  next  states  that  Noah  and  his  family  went  into 
the  ark.  The  statement  is  then  repeated,  in  connection 
with  the  exact  time  when  it  occurred. 

346.  There  is  some  indefiniteness  as  to  the  time  tho 
flood  prevailed.     We  have  the  record  as  follows  :  — 

CHAP.  VII. 


11.  In  the  six  hundredth  year  of 
Noah's  life,  in  the  second  month, 
the  seventeenth  day  of  the  month, 
the  same  day  were  all  the  fountains 
of  the  great  deep  broken  up,  and 
the  windows  of  heaven  were  opened. 

1*2.  And  the  rain  was  upon  the 
earth  forty  days  and  forty  nights. 

17.  And  the  flood  was  forty  days 
upon  the  earth ;  and  the  waters  in- 
creased, and  bare  up  the  ark,  and 
it  was  lift  up  above  the  earth. 

18.  And  the  waters  prevailed, 
ami  were  incrovseil  greatly  ujxm 
the  earth;  and  the  ark  went  upon 
the  face  of  the  waters. 


I      10.    And  the  waters  prevailed  ex- 
'  cee  lingly  upon  the  earth;  and  all 
;  "iiie  high  hills  that  were  under  the 
whole  heaven,  were  covered. 

20.  Fifteen  cubits  upward  did 
the  waters  prevail;  and  the  moun- 
tains were  covered. 
;  21.  And  all  flesh  died  that  moved 
upon  the  earth,  both  of  fowl,  and 
of  cattle,  and  of  beast,  and  of  every 
creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon 
the  earth,  and  every  man  : 

22.  All  in  whose  nostrils  was  the 
breath  of  life,  of  all  thatu'os  in  the 
dry  land,  died. 

23.  And  every  living  substance 


THE  DELUGE   CONSIDERED. 


189 


was  destroyed  which  was  upon  tlie 
face  of  the  ground,  both  man,  and 
cattle,  and  the  creeping  things,  and 
the  fowl  of  the  heaven ;  and  they 
were  destroyed  from  the  earth:  and 


Noah  only  remained  alive,  and 
they  that  were  with  him  in  the  ark. 
'24.  And  the  waters  prevailed 
upon  the  earth  an  hundred  and  fifty 
days. 


CHAP.  VIII 


1.  And  God  remembered  Noah, 
and  every  living  thing,  and  all  the 
cattle  that  icas  with  him  in  the 
ark:  and  God  made  a  wind  to  pass 
over  the  earth,  and  the  waters  as- 
suaged. 

2.  The  fountains  also  of  the  deep 
and  the  windows  of  heaven  were 
stopped,  and  the  rain  from  heaven 
was  restrained. 

3.  And  the  waters  returned  from 
otf  the  earth  continually:  and  after 
the  end  of  the  hundred  and  fifty 
days  the  waters  were  abated. 

4.  And  the  ark  rested  in  the 
seventh  month,  on  the  seventeenth 
day  of  the  month,  upon  the  moun- 
tains of  Ararat. 

5.  And  the  waters  decreased  con- 
tinually until  the  tenth  month:  in 
the  tenth  month,  on  the  first  day 
of  the  month,  were  the  tops  of  the 
mountains  seen. 

6.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the 
end  of  forty  days,  that  Noah  opened 
the  window  of  the  ark  which  he 
had  made: 

7.  And  he  sent  forth  a  raven, 
which  went  forth  to  and  fro,  until 
the  waters  were  dried  up  from  off 
the  earth. 

8.  Also  he  sent  forth  a  dove  from 
him,  to  see  if  the  waters  were  abat- 
ed from  off  the  face  of  the  ground ; 

9.  But  the  dove  found  no  rest 
for  the  sole  of  her  foot,  and  she  re- 
turned unto  him  into  the  ark,  for  the 
waters  u-erc  on  the  face  of  the  whole 
earth:  then  he  put  forth  his  hand, 
and  took  her,  and  pulled  her  in 
unto  him  into  the  ark. 

10.  And  he  stayed  yet  other  seven 
days-,  and  again  he  sent  forth  the 

347.  A  careful  observation  and   comparison   of   pas^ 
sages,  in  this  account,  will  make  out  the  following  par- 


dove  out  of  the  ark ; 

11.  And  the  dove  came  into  him 
in  the  evening;  and,  lo,  in  her 
mouth  was  an  olive  leaf  plucked 
off':  so  Noah  knew  that  the  waters 
were  abated  from  off  the  earth. 

12.  And  he  stayed  yet  other 
seven  days;  and  sent  forth  the 
dove;  which  returned  not  again 
unto  him  any  more. 

13.  IF  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
six  hundredth  and  first  year,  in  the 
first  month,  the  first  day  of  the 
month,  the  waters  were  dried  up 
from  oft"  the  earth:  and  Noah  re- 
moved the  covering  of  the  ark, 
and  looked,  and,  behold,  the  face 
of  the  ground  was  dry. 

14.  And  in  the  second  month,  on 
the  seven  and  twentieth  day  of  the 
month,  was  the  earth  dried. 

15.  IT  And  God  spake  unto  No- 
ah, saying, 

16.  Go  forth  of  the  ark,  thou, 
and  thy  wife,  and  thy  sons,  and 
thy  sons'  wives  with  thee. 

17.  Bring  forth  with  thee  every 
living  thing  that  is  with  thee,  of 
all  flesh,  both  of  fowl,  and  of  cattle, 
and  of  every  creeping  thing  that 
creepeth  upon  the  earth ;  that  they 
may  breed  abundantly  in  the  earth, 
and  be  fruitful,  and  multiply  upon 
the  earth. 

18.  And  Noah  went  forth,  and 
his  sons,  and  his  wife,  and  his  sons' 
wives  with  him: 

19.  Every  beast,  every  creeping 
thing,  and  every  fowl,  and  what- 
soever creepeth  upon  the  earth, 
after  their  kinds,  went  forth  out  of 
the  ark. 


190  THE    DELUOE    CONSIDERED. 

ticulars  :  —  Noah  went  into  the  ark  on  the  ITth  day  of 
the  second  month,  when  the  flood  commenced.  The  thxjd 
continued  from  that  date,  40  days  and  40  nights,  at  wliich 
time  the  waters  exceeded  the  highest  mountains  by  15 
cubits,  or  a  little  more  than  22  feet.  At  this  time  all 
land  animals,  not  shut  up  in  the  ark,  had  perished. 

318.  When  it  is  added  that  the  waters  prevailed  upon 
the  earth  150  days,  we  must  include  in  this  n^cktJiiing. 
the  40  days  before  alluded  to.  This  is  evident  from  \  iii  : 
4,  where  it  is  said  that  the  ark  rested,  in  the  seventh 
month,  and  on  the  17th  da}^  of  the  month,  upon  the 
mountains  of  Ararat  :  for  this  period  is  just  five  months 
(from  the  Hth  of  the  second  month  to  the  17th  of  the 
seventh  J  from  the  time  the  flood  commenced;  and  five 
months  of  Jewish  reckoning,  is  precisely  150  days.  From 
the  time  the  ark  rested  on  Ararat,  up  to  the  first  day  of 
the  tenth  month,  the  waters  continued  to  decrease,  so  that 
then  the  tops  of  the  mountains  were  seen.  Forty  days 
later  Noah  sent  forth  a  raven,  and  still  later  a  dove.  On 
the  first  day  of  the  first  month,  of  the  next  3^ear,  Noah 
removed  the  covering  of  the  ark  ;  and  in  the  sec(jnd 
month,  on  the  27th  day  of  the  month,  the  ground  was 
dry,  and  Noah  went  forth  from  the  ark,  one  Jewish  year 
and  ten  days  after  he  had  entered  it. 

SECTION  X.— Mountains  of  Ararat. 

349.  The  ark  rested  on  the  mountains  of  Ararat.  We 
know  there  are  such  mountains  as  are  here  named.  They 
are  two  in  number,  and  from  their  height  are  called  the 
Greater  and  Lesser  Ararat.  It  is  not  improbable  that  the 
ark  first  rested  upon  the  one,  and  by  degrees,  as  the 
water  subsided,  passed  down  to  the  other,  or  to  the  plain 
betwe(m  the  two.  These  mountains  have  been  known 
and  called  by  this  name,  from  the  most  ancient  times  ; 
and  the  traditions  of  the  people  in  that  country,  fully 
Knstain  the  fact  that  this  was  the  place  where  the  ark 
rested. 

350.  The  author  of  "  Earth  and  Man,"  in  his  admira- 
ble lectures,  has  the  following  remarks  that  seem  appro- 
priate in  this  connection.     "  Here  ....  is  the  original 


THEOLOGICAL    DOCTRIXES.  191 

country  of  the  white  race,  the  most  perfect  in  body  and 
mind.  If  we  take  tradition  for  our  guide,  and  follow, 
step  by  step,  the  march  of  the  primitive  nations,  as  we 
ascend  to  their  point  of  departure,  they  irresistibly  lead 
us  to  the  very  centre  of  this  plateau.  Now  in  this  cen- 
tral part  also,  in  Upper  Armenia  and  in  Persia  .  .  .  we 
find  the  purest  type  of  the  historical  nations.  Thence 
we  behold  them  descend  into  the  arable  plains  and  spread 
toward  all  parts  of  the  horizon.''     pp.  292,  293. 

351.  *•  Man  presents  to  our  view  his  purest,  his  most 
perfect  type,  at  the  very  centre  of  the  temperate  conti- 
nents, at  the  centre  of  Asia-Europe,  in  the  region  of 
Iran  of  Armenia  and  of  Caucassus  ;  and  departing  from  this 
Geographical  centre,  in  the  three  grand  directions  of  the 
lands,  the  types  gradually  lose  the  beauty  of  their  forms, 
in  proportion  to  their  distance,  even  to  the  extreme  points 
of  the  southern  continents,  where  we  find  the  most  de- 
formed and  degraded  of  races,  and  the  lowest  in  the 
scale  of  humanity."     pp.  254,  255. 


CHAPTER  X. 

THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES. 

Contents  :  —  God  and  his  Attributes ;  Unity  of  God ;  Nature  and 
Responsibility  of  Man;  Rewards  and  Punishments ;  Final  Tri- 
umph of  Good ;  Garden  of  Eden. 

352.  One  reason  why  the  ideas  of  men  respecting  the 
teachings  of  the  Bible,  are  so  indefinite  and  confused,  is, 
that  they  seek  to  comprehend  the  teachings  of  the  whole 
book  at  once,  whereas  they  would  have  much  clearer 
conceptions,  and  a  much  better  understanding  of  the  sub- 
jects treated  of,  if  they  would  bring  their  investigations 
at  first  to  bear  upon  some  distinct  parts  of  the  book,  and 
advance  to  others,  onlyafter  these  w^ere  clearly  understood. 
This  is  the  method  we  now  propose  to  follow.  We  will 
first  ascertain,  as  far  as  we  can,  what  doctrines  are  taught 
in  the  book  of  Genesis  ;  and  at  some  other  time,  we  will 
do  the  same  thing,  with  other  portions  of  the  Scriptures. 


192  THEOLOGICAL  DOCTRINES 

353.  If  it  be  thought  that  we  shall  be  liable  to  fall  into 
errors,  by  taking  so  limited  a  view,  the  danger,  we  think, 
can  exist  only  with  reference  to  doctrines  not  clearly 
revealed  in  this  part  of  the  Bible  ;  and  with  respect  to 
these  we  should  not  be  too  confident.  But  the  doctrines 
that  are  expressed  in  clear  and  unambiguous  terms,  may 
be  learned  and  received  with  confidence  ;  and  if  the  Bible 
is  a  consistent  book  throughout,  no  part  of  it  will  be  fouiid 
adverse  to  these,  but  will  fully  confirm  them.  Our  inves- 
tigations will  be  most  profitable  to  us  by  observing  some 
methodical  arrangement. 

SECTION  I.  —  God  and  his  Attributes. 

354.  We  know  that  expressions  are  found  in  the  book 
of  Genesis,  that,  literall}^  uuderstood,  convey  unworthy 
ideas  of  God ;  but  we  have  elsewhere  oflered,  what  we 
hope  may  be  regarded,  as  good  reasons  for  not  giving 
such  interpretation  to  these  expressions  :  not  merely 
because  we  do  not  believe  such  things  of  God,  as  this 
language  would  indicate,  but  because  we  have  no  good 
reason  for  supposing  that  the  author  himself  believes 
thus.  Doubtless  their  ideas  of  God  were  not  equal  to 
ours ;  for,  if  they  were,  we  might  pertinently  ask : 
What  good  has  the  Bible  done  us  ?  But  their  ideas  were 
not  as  low  and  puerile,  as  we  might  suppose,  while  look- 
ing only  at  certain  forms  of  expression  which  they  employ. 
This  is  evident  from  other  representations  found  in  the 
book.  Hence,  if  we  find  some  rude  expressions,  as  doubt- 
less we  do,  they  should  be  so  interpreted  as  to  harmonize 
with  other  and  higher  representations.  The  best  forms 
of  speech  should  be  chosen  to  represent  their  ideas,  rather 
than  other  and  ruder  forms. 

The  author  of  a  book  on  Natural  Philosophy,  for  exam- 
ple, should  not  be  charged  with  error,  when  he  speaks  of 
the  rising  and  setting  of  the  sun,  so  long  as  we  know  that 
he  has  maintained  tiie  contrary  of  what  this  language 
implies,  while  treating  of  the  earth's  motions.  Nor  do  we 
deal  fiiirly  b}^  him,  if  we  say  his  book  is  inconsistent  and 
contradictory  ;  for  while  treating  the  subject  of  the  diur- 
nal revolution  of  our  planet,  he  shows  us  plainly  what  are 


THEOLOGICAL    DOCTRINES.  193 

the  facts  :  but,  while  treating  other  subjects,  he  makes 
use  of  popular  language,  which,  though  literally  untrue, 
does  not  mislead  or  deceive  us.  May  it  not  be  assumed, 
then  that  the  writers  of  the  Bible  will  be  treated  with 
equal  fairness,  by  the  readers  of  that  book.  It  is  certain, 
that  they  are  entitled  to  the  consideration  here  asked  for 
them  :  and  if  it  be  not  granted,  the  wrong  must  be 
charged  on  their  impugners  and  not  on  themselves.  We 
proceed  then  to  show  what  are  the  ideas,  inculcated  in 
the  book  of  Genesis,  concerning  God  and  his  attributes. 

355.  First,  the  actions  ascribed  to  God,  show  the  views 
entertained  of  him.  The  work  of  creation,  ascribed  to 
the  energy  of  the  Almighty,  will  of  itself,  vindicate  the 
book  from  the  charge  of  narrow  views,  that  might  be 
inferred  from  other  allusions.  The  heavens  and  the  earth 
are  the  work  of  his  hands.  He  spake  and  it  was  done  ; 
he  commanded  and  it  stood  fast.  All  things  are  regarded 
as  created  by  the  simple  word  of  God.  "Let  there  be 
light,  and  there  was  light,"  has  often  b?en  quoted  as  one 
of  the  subhmest  forms  of  speech.  The  original  is  perhaps 
still  better  than  the  translation,  "  Light,  Be  ;  and  light 
was,''  is  a  literal  rendering.  That  the  author  of  the 
book  of  Genesis  regarded  God  as  simply  a  national  divin- 
ity, and  had  no  higher  conceptions  of  his  character,  is 
asserted  by  some  ;  but  the  assertion  has  no  proof. 

356.  That  the  providential  care  of  the  family  of  Abra- 
ham, should  encourage  some  such  narrow  views  in  the 
minds  of  a  rude  people,  in  a  low  state  of  civilization,  can 
easily  be  supposed,  and  need  not  be  denied.  That  forms 
of  expression,  there  used,  may  be  so  interpreted,  we  will 
not  dispute.  We  may  go  farther  and  say,  that  God  him- 
self may  have  designed  to  address  the  patriarchs  in  a 
manner  fitted  to  remind  them  of  his  special  care  and  pro- 
tection. But  that  these  views  were  the  highest  concep- 
tions entertained  of  God  —  much  less,  that  these  were 
the  only  views  that  were  revealed  to  the  people  of  those 
days,  is  contradicted  by  frequent  references  of  a  more 
elevated  character,  of  which,  what  is  said  of  the  creation, 
is  an  obvious  example. 

357o  What  is  said  of  the  Deluge,  is  no  less  to  our  pur- 
pose.    That  event  was  sufficiently  momentous  to  indicate 
9 


194  THEOLOGICAL    DOCTRINES. 

the  interposition  of  an  Almighty  Power  ;  and  to  insist 
that  the  historian  who  gives  us  the  Bible  account  of  it, 
had  none  but  low  and  unworthy  conceptions  of  the  char- 
acter of  God,  to  whose  agency  that  event  is  referred, 
shows  an  entire  misconception  of  the  facts  as  they  are. 
In  the  same  spirit  are  the  destruction  of  Babel  and  of 
Sodom  ;  though  these  events  are  not  of  the  same  m.agnifi- 
cent  character  as  the  former.  Tliey  show  that  the  "  God 
of  the  Jews  is  also  the  God  of  the  Gentiles,''  and  that  the 
book  so  regards  him,  as  it  makes  him  to  concern  himself 
with  their  aliairs,  holding  them  responsible  to  him  for 
their  conduct,  and  punishing  them  for  their  sins.  Nor 
are  other  references  without  significance,  as  inculcating 
the  same  sentiment.  Abraham  once  fell  into  an  error  on 
this  subject,  and  took  what  he  thought  were  judicious 
measures  to  guard  himself  from  the  wrongs  of  a  people, 
who  as  ho  supposed,  had  no  fear  of  God  before  their  eyes. 
The  result  showed  his  mistake.  Isaac,  too,  did  the  same 
thing,  with  a  like  misapprehension,  and  with  the  same 
result  ;  and  Jacob  found  the  house  of  God  and  the  gate 
of  heaven,  where  he  did  not  expect  the  divine  presence. 

358.  In  the  second  place,  the  book  employs  lang-uage, 
to  set  forth  the  divine  attributes,  fitted  to  give  us  exalted 
views  of  the  Creator.  The  language  of  Melchisedck  is 
to  the  point : — "  Blessed  be  Abraham  of  the  Most  High 
God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  Earth  ;  and  blessed  be  the 
Most  High  God,  who  hath  delivered  thine  enemies  into  thy 
hands."  The  lanG;uage  of  Abram,  on  the  same  occasion,  is 
similar;  "  I  have  lifted  up  my  hand  unto  the  Lord,  the  Most 
High  God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth.''  The  language 
of  God  to  this  patriarch,  on  another  occasion,  is  quite  as 
emphatic,  and  equally  to  our  purpose; — "I  am  the  Al- 
migty  God  ;  walk  before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect."  Simi- 
lar is  the  language  to  Jacob  ;  —  "  I  am  God  Almighty  ;" 
and  this  patriarch  uses  the  same  language  to  his  sons. 
''  God  Almighty  give  you  mercy  before  the  man."  xiv. 
19,  20,  22;  xvii.  1  ;  xliii.  14;  xlix.  25. 

359.  That  the  ancients  had  the  same  extended  views 
of  "  heaven  and  earth"  that  now  prevail,  is  not  presumed. 
Doubtless  their  ideas  of  the  physical  universe  were  very 
limited  ;  and  their  views  of  the  Creator  and  Governor  of 
the  universe,  must  have  corresponded  ;  but  it  is  certain 


THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES.  195 

tliat  all  there  was  of  the  world,  be  it  more  or  less,  was 
the  product  of  the  Power  they  worshipped  —  was  in  his 
hands  and  subject  to  his  control. 

SECTION  II. —Unity  of  God. 

360.  The  unity  of  God  is  obviously  the  doctrine  of  the 
book  of  Genesis.  This  is  sufficiently  manifest  from  the 
absence  of  all  conflicting  doctrines.  True,  the  name  of 
God  (Elohim)  is  in  the  plural  form  ;  but  the  use  of  synony- 
mous words  in  the  singular,  the  use  of  the  singular  verb, 
the  singular  pronoun,  &c.,  in  conjunction  with  it,  shows 
clearly  that  the  sense  of  the  word  is  singular.  This  sub- 
ject is  fully  discussed  in  our  criticism  on  this  word,  and 
need  not  be  enlarged  upon  here.  Consult  p.  53-55.  Few 
that  have  any  knowledge  of  the  Hebrew  Scriptures,  will 
maintain  that  any  other  than  the  unity  of  God  is  therein 
revealed. 

SECTION  III.  —  Nature  and  Responsibility  of  Man. 

361.  It  is  worthy  of  being  noticed,  as  a  most  important 
fact  of  revelation,  that  man  was  made  in  the  image  of 
God.  This  image  can  have  no  reference  to  man's  physical 
form.  It  v/as  evidently  his  spiritual  nature  that  has  the 
divine  image  ;  and  this  fact  is  the  best  evidence,  furnished 
in  this  part  of  the  Bible,  to  prove  our  immortality.  We 
may  criticise  the  words  "soul"  and  "spirit,"  as  much 
as  we  please  :  and  we  shall  still  be  in  the  dark ;  but  in 
the  fact  of  man's  likeness  to  the  Divine  Being,  we  see 
good  and  substantial  reasons  for  believing  in  the  soul's 
immortality.  We  are  like  God  —  so  the  book  clearly  rep- 
resents. We  have  the  same  original  attributes  ;  and 
they  are  as  imperishable  in  us  as  they  are  in  him. 

362.  Were  we  to  seek  for  a  philosophical  interpreta- 
tion of  the  likeness  we  possess  to  the  Creator,  we  should 
find  it  in  the  language  of  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles,  who 
calls  God  the  "Father  of  our  spirits,"  in  contradistinctioji 
to  our  earthly  parents,  whom  he  designates  as  the  "fathers 
of  our  flesh."  The  human  soul  is  the  child  of  God  ;  and 
as  such  it  is  presumed  to  be  like  its  parent ;    and  if  we 


19G  THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES. 

look  closely  to  what  man  is,  as  a  spiritual  being,  the 
resemblance  will  become  quite  too  obvious  to  be  mistaken. 
The  spirit  of  man  and  the  Spirit  of  God  are  alike  —  the 
one  emanated  from  the  other,  as  the  cljild  from  a  parent ; 
and  both  have  the  same  attributes.  The  wisdom  and 
power  of  man,  and  the  wisdom  and  power  of  God,  are 
alike.  The  justice  of  man,  and  the  justice  of  God,  are 
the  same.  The  benevolence  of  man,  and  of  God,  are 
identical.  The  difference  is  not  in  the  nature  of  these 
attributes,  but  only  in  their  extent.  Man  is  finite,  and 
God  is  infinite. 

The  first  act  of  God's  moral  government  over  man,  is 
based  on  the  doctrine  here  announced.  There  is  an 
assumption  of  human  responsibility;  and  this  can  only 
belong  to  a  moral  nature,  such  as  no  being  but  God  pos- 
sesses, and  those  made  in  his  likeness. 

363.  But  did  human  nature  and  responsibility  remain 
the  same  ?  That  man  was  originally  hol}^  is  generally 
assumed.  That  he  remained  so,  is  generally  denied.  Ilia 
nature  was  at  first  pure  —  he  was  indeed  a  child  of  God  — 
but  when  he  fell,  in  other  words,  when  he  sinned,  he 
became  wholly  changed.  This  is  the  common  opinion, 
from  which  we  are  compelled  to  dissent.  We  see  no 
reason  for  the  popular  doctrine,  that  human  nature  un- 
derwent a  change,  when  Adam  sinned.  We  are  sure 
that  no  intimation  of  such  a  change  is  given,  in  the 
account  we  have  of  that  transaction.  Adam's  condition 
was  changed.  His  character  was  changed.  He  was  right 
before  he  disobeyed,  he  was  wrong  afterwards.  He  was 
innocent  before,  afterwards  he  was  guilty.  He  was 
happy  before,  lie  was  afterwards  miserable.  But  this 
does  not  relate  to  the  nature  of  Adam.  His  nature  was 
unchanged.  His  reason  and  intellect  were  the  same. 
His  conscience  was  not  destroyed.  If  conscience  admon- 
ished him  not  to  commit  sin,  it  was  no  less  faithful  to 
rebuke  him  after  he  had  committed  it.  His  conscious- 
ness of  guilt  and  condemnation,  is  far  from  indicating'  a 
totally  corrupt  condition.  It  is,  on  the  contrary,  a  clear 
proof  that  he  was  sensible  of  his  responsibility  as  a  moral 
being,  and  therefore,  not  totally  corrupt. 


THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES.  197 

Nor  can  we  see  any  reason  why  that  one  sin  of  Adam 
should  be  so  much  more  heinous  than  other  sins.  Surely 
if  Adam  became  totally  corrupt  by  his  first  sin,  all  other 
sins  could  be  of  little  consequence  to  him.  He  might  now 
sin  with  an  uplifted  hand,  as  no  farther  effect  could  result 
from  his  iniquities.  Is  this  the  view  we  are  to  take  of 
tliis  subject  ?  If  we  take  this  view,  we  must  do  so,  on 
our  own  responsibility,  as  the  divine  record  cannot  be  so 
interpreted. 

364.  It  is  worthy  of  being  added,  that  the  subsequent 
history  of  man,  is  opposed  to  the  sentiment  now  under 
review.  Cain  was  punished  for  his  sins,  because  he  could 
have  avoided  the  crime  for  which  he  was  made  to  suffer. 
He  had  no  more  excuse  than  Adam  had.  He  could  not 
plead  his  corrupt  nature  in  extenuation  of  his  guilt,  more 
than  Adam  could.  This  does  not  harmonize  with  the 
common  views.  Indeed,  if  Cain  was  wholly  corrupt,  so 
that  he  could  not  think  a  good  thought,  speak  a  good 
word,  or  perform  a  good  act,  then  he  had  the  best  reason, 
in  the  world,  for  what  he  did  ;  and  his  punishment  was 
plainly  unjust.  We  shall  find  no  less  difficulty  in  account- 
ing for  the  good  conduct  of  his  brother,  if  the  common 
theory  be  true.  Abel  was  acceptable  for  his  righteous- 
ness ;  but  how  came  he  to  be  thus  righteous,  since  he  had 
inherited  a  corrupt  nature  from  his  parents?  True,  he 
may  have  "  met  with  a  change  ;"  but  if  this  be  so,  it  is 
certain  that  the  writer  has  omitted  to  give  us  the  record 
of  that  event. 

The  only  rational  conclusion  is,  that  Adam's  sons 
were  like  himself,  capable  of  sinning,  or  refraining  from 
sin,  as  they  pleased  ;  that,  before  they  sinned,  they  were 
as  innocent  as  himself;  and  that,  after  they  had  sinned, 
they  had  no  more  excuse  than  he  ;  in  other  words,  that 
their  nature,  the  divine  image  within  them,  was  the 
same,  as  it  was  at  first. 

365.  With  the  view  that  is  commonly  held  of  the  sin 
of  our  first  parents,  and  the  consequent  depravity,  we 
shall  find  it  difficult  to  account  for  some  y^stances  of 
virtue  and  piety  that  are  found  among  men  in  those 
ancient  times.  Enoch  walked  with  God  ;  so  did  Noah  ; 
and  in  the  days  of   Enos,  a  grand-  son  of  Adam,  it  is 


198  THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES. 

said  that  men  began  to  call  on  the  name  of  the  Lord. 
How  is  this  to  be  accounted  for,  in  view  of  their  native 
depravity  ?  This  we  deem  a  pertinent  question.  And 
it  is  quite  as  pertinent  to  ask,  how  we  are  to  account  for 
other  instances  of  good  behavior  that  made  their  appear- 
ance, after  the  flood,  even  with  those  that  did  not  belong 
to  the  chosen  people.  What  could  be  more  honorable 
than  the  conduct  of  Pharaoh  towards  Abram  and  his 
wife,  or  of  Abimelech  on  another  similar  occasion  ? 
What  more  generous  than  the  conduct  of  the  sons  of 
lieth,  when  Abram  proposed  to  purchase  of  them  the 
cave  of  Machpelah.  The  king  of  Sodom  shows  a  becom- 
ing sense  of  obligation  to  Abraham,  when,  after  the 
slaughter  of  the  kings,  he  proposes  to  the  patriarch  : 
"  Give  me  the  persons,  but  take  the  goods  to  thyself.'' 
The  king  of  Egypt,  at  a  later  period,  could  appreciate 
the  virtues  of  Joseph,  and  was  not  slow  to  reward  them. 
In  all  these  instances  w^e  see  goodness  where  we  should 
least  expect  it ;  and  they  clearly  show  that  the  image  of 
God  in  man,  neither  the  sin  of  Adam,  nor  any  other 
cause,  had  ever  radically  changed. 

366.  A  few  words  in  this  connection,  on  the  cause  of 
sin,  will  not  be  out  of  place.  And  the  first  thing  we 
would  notice,  is,  that  a  corrupt  nature  is  not  necessary 
to  account  for  its  existence  ;  for,  were  that  so,  we  would 
be  obliged  to  refer  the  same  thing  to  our  first  parents. 
It  is  obvious  that  if  they  could  sin  without  such  a  cause, 
so  can  others,  and  so  can  all.  They  were  naturally  pure, 
and  yet  they  sinned  :  we  then  can  sin,  though  naturally 
as  pure  as  they.  It  is  a  little  remarkable  that  men  have 
accounted  for  the  sin  of  Adam,  without  a  corrupt  nature 
to  engender  it :  but  have  not  been  able  to  account  for 
the  sin  of  others  in  the  same  way. 

367.  When  we  look  carefully  at  the  mode  of  proced- 
ure in  the  temptation  of  the  first  human  pair,  we  cannot 
help  seeing  that  they  were  tempted  precisely  as  we  are, 
and  sinned  in  the  same  way.  The  forbidden  object 
looked  to  them  desirable  ;  it  was  good  for  food  ;  it  was 
pleasant  to  the  eyes  ;  it  would  make  them  wise.  This 
was  oiic  view  of  the  subject.  "  But  death  will  ensue,  if 
we  eat/'  they  may  have  said;  and  yet  they  may  have 


THEOLOGICAL     DOCTRINES.  199 

thought,  *'  there  is  no  certainty  of  this  ;  we  do  not  see 
how  it  can  be  ;  and  it  is  possible  we  may  escape/' 
Thus  they  reasoned,  and  they  acted  according  to  this 
reasoning ;  thus  we  have  reasoned,  and  thus  we  have 
acted.  Say,  if  you  will,  that  we  do  this,  because  we  are 
naturally  inclined  to  evil.  The  inclination  was  with 
Adam,  as  much  as  with  us  ;  and  yet  of  him  no  such 
thing  is  affirmed.  He  sinned  while  acting  from  impulses 
and  desires  within,  called  into  exercise  by  circumstances 
without.  We  do  the  same.  The  fact  is  indisputable, 
and  all  can  understand  it. 

368.  The  case  of  Adam  and  Eve  shows  that  sin  results 
from  an  error  in  judgment,  in  regard  to  some  forbidden 
object.  They  erred  in  believing  that  a  good  could  be 
found  in  the  way  of  transgression.  They  erred  equally 
in  supposing  that  the  punishment  of  sin  could  be  avoided. 
These  are  the  two  great  mistakes  they  committed  ;  and 
these  are  the  two  great  mistakes  we  commit,  whenever 
we  sin.  The  whole  theory  of  sinning  is  here  laid  out 
before  us  ;  and  the  wa}^  of  safety  is  plain  :  It  is  to  trust 
to  no  information  but  what  we  get  from  our  rightful 
Sovereign.  Had  Adam  and  Eve  done  this,  they  would 
have  been  safe.     There  is  no  other  safe  way  for  us. 

SECTION  lY.  —  Rewards  and  Punishmexts. 

369.  The  doctrine  of  rewards  and  punishments  comes 
properly  before  us  in  this  discussion.  The  book  we  are 
explaining  says  something  on  this  subject  ;  and  it  is  im- 
portant for  us  to  know  what  it  says. 

While  Adam  and  Eve  were  innocent,  they  are  repre- 
sented as  being  in  a  beautiful  and  well-watered  garden, 
where  there  was  everything  to  please  and  delight  them. 
When  they  became  sinful,  they  were  not  only  "  driven 
out  "  from  the  garden,  but  their  condition  is  indicated  by 
images  that  imply  a  high  degree  of  suffering.  No  one 
can  mistake  the  general  design  of  the  representation. 
It  associates  with  innocence,  all  that  is  beautiful  and 
attractive,  and  with  guilt,  what  is  painful  and  vexatious. 

370.  Besides  this  obvious  representation,  w^e  have  the 
express  declaration  of  the  Almighty  to  the  same  effect. 
"In  the  day  thou  eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die." 


200  THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES. 

Two  particulars,  connected  with  pimisliment,  arc  here 
stated.  One  is,  tliat  punishment  is  immediate  :  and 
another,  that  it  is  certain.  "  In  the  day  "  conveys  the 
one  idea;  and  "surely"  the  other.  Instances  t(j  con- 
firm the  doctrine  may  be  taken  from  the  history  of  those 
early  times.  Cain  slew  his  brother,  and  was  punished 
with  a  present  punishment  that  he  thought  was  greater 
than  he  could  bear.  The  antediluvians  became  corrupt  ; 
and  it  is  presumed  that  they,  like  Adam,  suffered  for 
their  sins  a  present  retribution,  as  well  as  an  ultimate  de- 
struction. So  of  the  Sodomites  ;  so  of  Joseph's  breth- 
ren ;  so  of  all  others  that  sinned.  None  committed  a 
more  heinous  sin  than  Cain  ;  and  it  is  presumed  that 
none  were  punished  with  a  severer  infliction  ;  and  his 
punishment  we  know  was  temporal. 

371.  There  is  no  more  instructive  narrative,  showing 
the  nature  of  punishment,  than  that  relating  to  Joseph's 
brethren.  They  committed  a  great  sin  ;  and  thej^  suf- 
fered greatly  on  account  of  it.  They  not  only  suffered 
what  appears  on  the  face  of  the  narrative  :  but  they 
must,  from  the  nature  of  the  case,  have  suffered  much 
more  than  this.  But  when  their  punishment  had  properly 
humbled  them,  and  had  accomplished  the  purpose  orig- 
inally intended,  it  came  to  an  end  ;  and  this  brings  to 
view  another  feature  of  punishment,  as  administered  by 
the  divine  Being,  viz.,  its  salutary  tendency,  implying  its 
ultimate  termination. 

SECTION  Y.  —  Final  Triumph  of  Good. 

372.  There  are,  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  some  great  and 
precious  promises,  that  must  not  be  overlooked,  in  treat- 
ing the  doctrines  revealed  therein.  One  of  these  is  spoken 
of  in  connection  with  the  sin  of  our  first  parents.  "  I 
will  put  enmity  between  thee  and  the  woman,  and  be- 
tween thy  seed  and  her  seed  ;  it  shall  bruise  thy  head, 
and  thou  slialt  bruise  his  heel.^'  To  bruise  the  heel,  is 
a  small  evil;  but  to  bruise  the  head,  denotes  absolute 
destruction.  The  language  is  obviously  figurative  ;  but 
its  meaning  will  not  be  mistaken.  It  denotes  the  utter 
extinction  of  moral  evil ;  and  when  the  promise  is  fullillcd, 
there  will  be  no  more   sin  nor  suflering  in  the  universe. 


THEOLOGICAL    DOCTRINES. 


201 


I  am  unable  to  see  what  other  meaning  can  be  attached 
to  this  passage  ;  and  I  am  convinced,  that,  if  it  had 
received  the  attention  it  deserves,  we  should  not  now  be 
called  upon  to  expose  the  teachings  of  that  gloomy  sys- 
tem which  announces  the  endless  perpetuity  of  evil. 

373.  Another  promise,  worthy  of  being  placed  by  the 
side  of  this,  was  addressed  to  Abraham,  and  repeated  to 
Isaac  and  Jacob,  that  in  their  seed  all  the  families  and 
nati  »ns  of  the  earth  should  be  blessed.  We  know  not 
how  this  promise  can  be  understood  in  any  limited  sense  ; 
and  there  are  no  conditions  associated  with  it,  that  can 
occasion  a  failure.  Indeed,  the  promise  is  obviously  being 
fiilhlled  at  the  present  time.  The  world  is  being  blessed 
in  the  seed  of  Abraham.  The  work  is  now  going  on  ;  and 
it  gives  joyful  assurance  that  it  will  be  gloriously  accom- 
plished, according  to  the  spirit  and  letter  of  the  original 
declaration. 

The  whole  subject  of  the  divine  government  is  beauti- 
fully illustrated  in  the  allegory  of  the  Garden  of  Eden,  to 
which  the  reader's  attention  is  now  directed. 

SECTION  VI.— Garden  of  Eden. 


CHAP.  II. 


8.  IT  And  the  Lord  God  planted 
a  garden  eastward  in  Eden;  and 
there  he  put  the  man  whom  he  had 
formed. 

9.  And  out  of  the  ground  made 
the  Lord  God  to  grow  every  tree 
that  is  pleasant  to  the  sight,  and 
good  for  food ;  the  tree  of  life  also 
in  the  midst  of  the  garden,  and  the 
tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil. 

10.  And  a  river  went  out  of  Eden 
to  water  the  garden  ;  and  from 
thence  it  was  parted ,  and  became 
into  four  heads. 

11.  The  name  ofthe  first  is  Pison: 
that  is  it  which  compasseth  the 
whole  land  of  Havilah,  where  there 
is  gold ; 

12.  And  the  gold  of  that  land  is 
good  :  there  is  bdellium  and  the 

9* 


onyx  stone. 

13.  And  the  name  of  the  second 
river  is  Gihon:  the  same  is  it  that 
compasseth  the  whole  land  of  Ethi- 
opia, 

14.  And  the  name  of  the  third 
river  is  Hiddekel:  that  is  it  whicli 
goeth  toward  the  east  of  Assyria. 
And  the  fourth  river  is  Euphrates. 

15.  And  the  Lord  God  took  the 
man,  and  put  him  into  the  gaixlcn 
of  Eden,  to  dress  it,  and  to  keep  it, 

16.  And  the  Lord  God  commaud- 
ed  the  man,  saying,  Of  every  tree 
of  the  garden  thou  mayst  freely  eat : 

17.  But  of  the  tree  of  the  knowl- 
edge of  good  and  evil,  thou  shalt 
not  eat  of  it :  for  in  the  day  that  thou 
eatest  thereof  thou  shalt  surely  die. 


202 


THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES. 


CHAP.  m. 


1.  Now  the  serpent  was  more  sub 
tile  than  any  beast  of  the  field 
which  tlie  Lord  God  had  made: 
and  he  said  unto  the  wuman,  Yea, 
hath  God  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of 
every  tree  of  the  garden  '! 

2.  And  the  woman  said  unto  the 
serpent,  We  may  eat  of  the  fruit  of 
the  trees  of  the  garden  : 

3.  But  of  the  fruit  of  the  tree 
wliich  is  in  the  midst  of  the  garden, 
God  hath  said,  Ye  shall  not  eat  of  it, 
neither  shall  ye  touch  it,  lest  ye  die 

4.  And  the  serpent  said  unto  the 
woman.  Ye  shall  not  surely  die: 

5.  For  God  doth  know,  that  m 
the  day  ye  eat  thereof,  then  your 
eyes  shall  be  opened ;  and  ye  shall 
be  as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil. 

6.  And  when  the  woman  saw 
that  the  tree  was  good  for  food,  and 
that  it  was  pleasant  to  the  eyes,  and 
a  tree  to  be  desired  to  make  one 
wise ;  she  took  of  the  fruit  thereof, 
and  did  eat;  and  gave  also  unto  her 
husband  with  her,  and  he  did  eat. 

7.  And  the  eyes  of  them  both 
were  opened,  and  they  knew  that 
tiiey  were  naked:  and  they  sewed 
fig  leaves  together,  and  made  them- 
selves aprons. 

8.  And  they  heard  the  voice  of 
the  Lord  God  walking  in  the  gar- 
doa  in  the  cool  of  the  day:  and 
Adam  and  his  Avife  hid  themselves 
from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  God 
amongst  the  trees  of  the  garden. 

9.  And  the  Lord  God  called  unto 
Adam,  and  said  unto  him.  Where 
art  thou  ? 

10.  And  he  said,  I  heard  thy  voice 
in  the  garden;  and  I  was  afraid, 
because  I  was  naked;  and  I  hid 
myself. 

11.  And  he  said,  Who  told  thee 
that  thou  wast  naked  ?  Hast  thou 
eaten  of  the  ti'ce  whereof  I  com- 
manded thee  that  thou  shouldest 
not  eat. 

12.  And  the  man  said.  The  wo- 
man whom  thou  gavcst  to  he  with 
me,  she  gave  me  of  the  tree,  and  I 
did  eat. 

13.  And  the  Lord  God  said  unto 


the  woman,  What  is  this  that  thou 
hast  done  ?  Antl  the  woman  said, 
the  serpent  beguiled  me,  and  I  did 
eat. 

14.  And  the  Lcad  God  said  unto 
The  serpent.  Because  thou  hast 
done  this,  ihoMart  cui'sed  above  all 
cattle,  and  above  every  beast  of  the 
field:  upon  thy  belly  shalt  thou  go, 
and  dust  shalt  thou  eat  all  the  days 
of  thy  lite. 

15.  And  I  will  put  enmity  be- 
tween thee  and  the  woman,  and  be- 
tween thy  seed  and  her  seed :  it  shall 
bruise  thy  head,  and  thou  shalt 
bruise  his  heel. 

16.  Unto  the  woman  he  said,  I 
will  greatly  multiply  thy  sorrow 
and  thy  conception;  in  sorrow  thou 
shalt  bring  forth  children:  and  thy 
desire  shall  be  to  thy  husband,  and 
he  shall  rule  over  thee. 

17.  And  unto  Adam  he  said.  Be- 
cause thou  hast  hearkened  unto  the 
voice  of  thy  wife,  and  hast  eaten  of 
the  tree  of  which  I  commanded 
thee,  saying.  Thou  shalt  not  eat  of 
it:  cursed  is  the  ground  for  thy 
sake;  in  sorrow  shalt  thou  eat  of  it 
all  the  days  of  thy  life ; 

18.  Thorns  also  and  thistles  shall 
it  bring  forth  to  thee;  and  thou 
shalt  eat  the  herb  of  the  field : 

19.  In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shalt 
thou  eat  bread,  till  thou  return 
unto  the  ground ;  for  out  of  it  wast 
thou  taken:  for  dust  thou  art,  and 
unto  dust  shalt  thou  return. 

20.  And  Adam  called  his  wife's 
name  Eve,  because  she  was  the 
mother  of  all  living 

21.  Unto  Adam  also  and  to  his 
wife  did  the  Lord  God  make  coats 
of  skins,  and  clothed  them. 

22.  IT  And  the  Lord  God  said , 
Behold,  the  man  is  become  as  one 
of  us,  to  know  good  and  evil:  and 
now,  lest  he  put  forth  his  hand,  and 
take  also  of  the  tree  of  life,  and  eat, 
and  live  for  ever: 

23.  Therefore  the  Lord  God  sent 
him  forth  from  the  garden  of  Eden, 
to  till  the  ground  from  whence  he 
was  taken. 


THEOLOGICAL    DOCTRINES.  203 

24.  So  he  drove  out  the  man;  and    sword  which  turned  every  way,  to 
he  placed  at  the  east  of  the  garden  I  keep  the  way  of  the  tree  of  life, 
of  Eden  CherubiniSj  and  a  flaming  | 

374.  Various  opinions  have  been  entertained  concern- 
ing the  Garden  of  Eden  ;  nor  is  there  any  settled  theory 
at  the  present  time,  more  than  there  has  been  in  past 
ages.  The  account  we  have  in  the  Bible  is  generally 
regarded  as  literal;  and  a  theory  of  the  trial,  temptation, 
and  fall  of  our  first  parents,  has  been  based  upon  this  inter- 
pretation, and  made  to  assume  a  corresponding  shape  and 
form.  That  the  account  is  literal,  however,  seems  to  us 
quite  improbable.  The  balance  of  evidence  is  decidedly 
against  that  interpretation.  We  will  give  some  of  the 
reasons  for  differing  from  the  generally  received  theory. 

375.  First,  no  such  place  as  corresponds,  in  any  proxi- 
mate form,  to  the  Garden  of  Eden,  has  ever  been  found, 
on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Men  have  thought  they  had 
found  it ;  and  their  several  opinions  would  locate  it  in  eve- 
ry part  of  the  earth.  Asia,  Africa,  Europe  and  America, 
have  their  respective  claims,  sustained  by  men  of  genius 
and  education.  The  opinions  that  have  been  put  forth, 
and  the  arguments  in  their  defense,  would  fill  volumes  ; 
and  3^et  the  world  is  quite  as  much  in  the  dark  now,  as  it 
ever  has  been,  as  to  the  solution  of  this  question.  Did  we 
believe  in  a  literal  interpretation,  it  would  be  well  to  state 
the  various  opinions  of  men,  and  to  make  a  selection  of 
the  best  one  ;  but,  believing  we  have  found  a  more  excel- 
lent way,  we  do  not  think  best  to  employ  time  in  dis- 
cussing theories,  and  deciding  between  them,  when  they 
are  all  and  equally  false.  We  repeat  that  no  such  place 
as  the  Garden  of  Eden  has  ever  been  found.  If  it  be 
replied  that  time  would  obliterate  many  of  the  features 
of  the  garden  ;  so  that  an  approximation  to  the  Bible 
description,  is  all  that  we  could  expect,  and  that  such 
approximation  has  been  arrived  at ;  we  reply,  that  no 
such  thing  can  be  claimed  for  any  theory  with  which  we 
are  acquainted.  This  will  be  made  the  more  evident  as 
we  advance. 

376.  In  the  second  place,  there  have  never  been  such 
rivers  as  are  spoken  of  in  connexion  with  the  Garden  of 


204:  THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES. 

Eden.  One  of  the  rivers  was  Pison  that  encompassed 
the  whole  land  of  ITavilah.  Another  was  Gihon  that 
encompassed  the  v\hole  land  of  Ethiopia,  The  third  river 
was  Hiddekel  which  goeth  toward  the  east  of  Assyria ; 
and  the  fourth  was  Euphrates.  There  was  a  place  in 
Palestine,  or  near  that  country,  by  the  name  of  Havilah  ; 
but  we  know  of  no  river  Pison  with  which  it  was  encom- 
passed. Ethiopia  was  in  Africa,  and  Assyria  was  in  Asia  ; 
and  we  all  know  that  no  two  rivers,  arising  near  the  same 
source,  could  have  encompassed  the  one  of  these  coun- 
tries, and  gone  to  the  east  of  the  other.  There  is  a  river 
Euphrates  ;  but  there  are  no  rivers  connected  with  it, 
that  answer  the  description  of  the  others  mentioned  in 
this  account.  But  if  it  could  be  shown  that  somewhere 
near  the  Euphrates,  four  rivers  are  found,  that  may  have 
been  the  ones  mentioned  by  Moses,  that  would  not  locate 
the  Garden  of  Eden  there  ;  for  we  know  that  a  thousand 
similar  instances  can  be  adduced  from  all  parts  of  the 
world.  It  is  quite  common  for  elevated  regions  of  coun- 
try to  send  forth,  not  four  only,  but  many,  streams  of 
water,  that  go  off  into  different  and  distant  lands. 

Let  another  thing  be  observed  in  connection  with  these 
rivers.  They  were  at  first  but  one  river,  which  after- 
wards separated  and  became  four.  This  at  least  is  the 
common  view  of  the  account ;  and  it  involves  a  thing  that 
is  quite  unnatural.  That  several  streams  should  meet 
and  form  one,  is  natural,  and  what  we  all  know  to  be  the 
usual  arrangement  ;  but  that  one  stream  should  part  into 
four  streams,  is  unnatural,  and  not  to  be  believed  on  any 
slight  evidence.  It  is  still  more  unnatural,  if  possible,  for 
a  river  to  encompass  aland.  It  ma}^  pass  through  it,  but 
it  cannot  encompass  or  surround  it. 

377.  In  the  next  place,  there  never  were  such  literal 
trees  as  are  mentioned  in  connection  with  the  Garden. 
Indeed,  the  names  given  to  two  of  the  trees  of  the  Gar- 
den, the  one  being  called  "  the  tree  of  life,'^  and  the 
other  "  the  tree  of  knowledge  of  good  and  evil,'^  make 
it  as  obvious  as  the  light  of  day,  that  a  moral  and  not  a 
literal  interpretation  was  intended.  We  marvel  that  this 
circumstance  has  not  attracted  attention  before,  and  more 
generally,  and  saved  interpreters  from  many  absurdities 


THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES.  205 

into  which  they  have  fallen.  It  is  quite  certain  that  these 
two  trees  are  to  be  understood  figuratively  ;  if  so,  why 
not  the  other  trees  of  the  Garden,  and  the  Garden  itself, 
and  the  rivers  by  which  it  was  watered  ? 

378.  Again  ;  there  never  was  such  a  serpent  as  the 
one  alluded  to  in  the  account  before  us.  Did  serpents 
talk  in  those  days  ?  and  did  they  interest  themselves  in 
moral  subjects,  the  obedience  and  disobedience  of  men  ? 
Did  they  know,  and  how,  that  our  first  parents  would  be 
as  gods,  knowing  good  and  evil,  if  they  ate  of  the  tree  ? 
Did  they  walk  upright,  making  it  a  punishment  to  crawl 
on  the  ground,  as  they  now  do,  and  as  they  are  fitted  to 
do,  by  their  configuration  ?  And  what  interpretation  can 
we  attach  to  the  promise,  literally  understood,  that  the 
seed  of  the  woman  should  'bruise  the  serpent's  head,' 
which,  in  that  case,  would  be  nothing  more  than  the 
simple  announcement,  that  Eve's  descendants  would  kill 
snakes.  If  it  be  said  that  the  serpent  was  only  an  in- 
strument in  the  hands  of  an  invisible  tempter,  Ave  would 
reply :  1st,  that  no  such  idea  is  inculcated  by  the  sacred 
writer;  and  2d,  if  it  were  so,  that  would  not  militate 
against  a  moral  application. 

379.  Another  thing,  equally  difficult,  as  literally  inter- 
preted, is,  that  the  partaking  of  the  fruit  of  the  forbidden 
tree,  should  induce  such  consequences  as  described  in 
the  account.  How  could  Adam  and  Eve  now  know  that 
they  were  naked,  rather  than  before  they  partook  of  the 
fruit  ?  How  could  such  fruit  make  them  know  good  and 
evil,  or  become  as  gods  ?  Nearly  allied  to  this  objection, 
is,  the  consequences  that  followed  disobedience.  What 
connection  between  the  penalty  inflicted  on  the  woman, 
and  the  fruit  she  ate  ;  or  the  punishment  the  man  was 
made  to  suffer,  and  the  sin  for  which  it  was  inflicted  ? 
All  this  is  unnatural  and  unphilosophical,  when  inter- 
preted literally  ;  and  yet  it  admits  of  a  consistent  and 
beautiful  application  when  viewed  allegorical! y. 

380.  Another  thing  is  worthy  of  notice  in  this  connec- 
tion. That  Adam  and  Eve  should  be  put  into  a  literal 
garden,  to  keep  it  and  cultivate  it,  and  to  confine  their 
labors  to  that ;  when  they  had  before  received  from  the 
Creator  the   dominion  of  the  whole  earth,  and  were  com- 


206  THEOLOGICAL     DOCTRINES. 

rnanded  to  replenish  and  subdue  it;  —  in  other  words, 
that  they  should  be  cast  out  of  the  garden,  and  made  to 
do  as  a  punishment  for  sin,  what  they  had  been  instructed 
to  do  at  first,  and  before  sin  entered  into  the  world — is 
a  theory  that  introduces  diificulty  and  contradiction  into 
the  record,  without  any  just  occasion  for  so  doing.  But 
that,  having  given  us  an  account  of  man's  creation  and 
his  physical  relations,  the  writer  should  then,  by  the 
ancient  and  symbolic  method,  instruct  us  in  regard  to  his 
moral  condition,  is  a  rational  and  natural  supposition. 

381.  We  understand  the  Garden  of  Eden  as  an  alle- 
gory ;  and  with  this  understanding,  it  reveals  to  us  a 
sound  philosophy,  in  respect  to  man's  moral  state  ;  and 
the  fitness  of  the  several  parts  of  the  allegory,  to  repre- 
sent temptation  to  sin,  the  act  of  transgression,  and  the 
consequences  thereof  will  justify  the  interpretation. 

It  should  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  most  ancient  form 
of  writing  was  by  hieroglyphics  or  pictures.  The  mean- 
ing of  the  picture  depended,  like  any  word  or  phrase  in 
any  other  form  of  writing,  not  only  on  itself,  its  form 
and  arrangement,  but  on  other  pictures  that  were  asso- 
ciated with  it.  It  is  very  easy  to  see  how  the  innocence 
of  our  first  parents  in  their  primitive  state,  their  subse- 
quent temptation  and  fall,  and  the  painful  consequences 
of  their  sin,  could  be  set  forth  in  this  way.  In  this  way, 
in  our  judgment,  it  was  set  forth. 

382.  The  first  picture  is  that  of  a  beautiful  and  well- 
watered  garden,  having  every  tree  that  is  good  for  food 
and  pleasant  to  the  eye.  In  the  mid4  of  the  garden 
are  two  trees  that  attract  special  attention.  They  are 
very  unlike.  Their  respective  names  could  be  afterwards 
inferred  from  their  results.  In  this  garden  are  our  first 
parents,  with  the  evident  intention  that  they  shall  culti- 
vate it  and  enjoy  its  fruits.  This  is  the  p*^icture.  The 
meaning  is  not  difficult.  The  Garden  denotes  a  state  of 
innocence.  What  could  be  more  appropriate  r*  The  trees 
are  human  actions.  One  tree  only  denotes  wrong  doing. 
It  is  man's  duty  to  cultivate  his  moral  nature,  and  enjoy 
the  fruits  of  well-doing. 

383.  The  next  picture  is  the  same  as  the  first,  with 
the  addition  of  a  serpent,  extending  to  Eve  the  fruit  of 


THEOLOGICAL   DOCTEINES.  207 

the  forbidden  tree  (which,  from  this  circumstance,  be- 
comes known  as  the  forbidden  tree,)  and  Adam  standing 
near  by,  ready  to  receive  it  at  her  hand.  Nothing  could 
more  aptly  represent  temptation  than  this  picture  The 
serpent  is  the  most  subtile  of  all  the  beasts  of  the  field, 
and  is  therefore  better  fitted  to  set  forth  the  seductive 
power  of  sin  than  any  other  animal.  The  conversation 
of  the  serpent  with  the  woman,  is  sufficiently  indicated 
by  the  picture  itself,  without  any  other  expedient  to  de- 
note it.  Besides,  it  is  the  language  of  human  experi- 
ence. Sin  looks  attractive,  and  it  promises  much  good  ; 
and  it  suggests  that  the  punishment  it  may  deserve,  is 
quite  uncertain.  It  mixes  up  truth  and  error  in  its 
promises,  and  by  that  means,  the  more  effectually  leads 
us  astray. 

384.  The  next  picture  contains  the  same  general  fea- 
tures as  the  former  ones,  except  that  it  shows  our  first 
parents  as  conscious  of  guilt,  and  seeking  to  hide  them- 
selves among  the  trees  of  the  garden.  That  the  serpent 
has  been  successful  is  obvious  ;  that  Adam,  as  well  as 
Eve,  has  sinned,  is  indicated  by  his  appearance.  That 
they  were  tried  and  condemned  by  their  lawful  Sovereign, 
was  a  legitimate  inference,  and  is  fully  confirmed  by 
the  next  and  last  picture. 

385.  Finally  ;  the  Garden  no  longer  appears,  or  if  it 
does,  our  first  parents  are  no  longer  its  inmates.  The 
woman  is  represented  in  a  condition  of  great  pain  and 
distress,  teaching  us  that  great  physical  suflering  is 
requisite  to  adequately  represent  the  consequences  of 
sin  to  her  tender  nature.  The  man  is  toiling  in  the 
midst  of  briars  and  thorns  that  torture  and  goad  him  on 
every  hand,  teaching  him  plainly  that  the  way  of  the 
transgressor  is  hard.  A  flaming  sword  and  cherubim 
are  marked  on  this  picture  as  standing  between  the 
offenders  and  the  tree  of  life,  lest  they  should  partake  of 
that,  and  not  suffer  the  penalty  that  had  been  announced 
as  the  result  of  transgression.  The  serpent  is  no  longer 
coiled  about  the  tree  of  knowledge,  from  which  he  had 
reached  out  the  fruit  to  Eve  ;  but  he  lies  prostrate  in  the 
dust,  from  which  he  is  to  derive  his  sustenance  ;  and 
some  mark  indicates  (or  it  is  a  reasonable  inference)  that 


208  THEOLOGICAL    DOCTRINES. 

he  shall   ultimately  be  destroj^ed  by  a  descendant  of  the 
woman  whom  he  had  seduced  from  duty. 

386.  This  is  briefly  the  meaning  of  this  beautiful 
allegory.  The  most  important  lessons  are  here  taught. 
The  representation  gives  us  the  experience  of  our  first 
parents,  and  not  less  the  experience  of  their  descend- 
ants. It  shows  the  responsibility  of  man,  the  process  of 
temptation  and  disobedience,  and  the  consequences  of 
sin.  We  know  the  truth  of  what  is  here  taught  from 
our  own  experience  ;  for  we,  as  much  as  Adam  and  Eve, 
have  been  in  the  Garden  of  Eden,  have  had  the  same 
unfortunate  interview  with  the  serpent,  have  sinned  and 
fallen  as  they  did,  and  found  the  consequences  to  be 
what  they  experienced. 

387.  The  theology  of  the  church  has  not  been  satisfied 
with  these  simple  and  beautiful  lessons.  It  has  therefore 
added  many  things  to  the  divine  word,  and  has  thus 
marred  the  beauty  of  the  sacred  record,  and  brought  it 
into  disrepute  with  many  men,  w^ho  take  the  common 
view  as  the  true  one,  and  have  too  much  good  sense  to 
accept  it. 

We  will  enumerate  briefly  the  errors  that  have  been 
engrafted  upon  the  Bible  representation,  and  give  a  few 
of  the  reasons  why  they  ought  not  to  be  regarded  as  any 
part  of  the  divine  teaching.  First,  men  have  made  the 
sin  of  our  first  parents  to  have  produced  a  change  in  the 
Deity,  loving  and  blessing  them  before  they  sinned,  and 
hating  and  cursing  them  afterwards.  Next,  they  have 
believed  and  taught  that  human  nature  was  wholly 
changed  by  the  first  sin.  It  was  before  immortal  and 
immaculate ;  it  was  afterwards  subject  to  dissolution  and 
totally  corrupt.  Some  have  carried  the  idea  of  change, 
so  far,  that  they  have  represented  the  animals,  as  well  as 
men,  as  having  undergone  a  similar  transformation.  They 
became  cruel  and  voracious,  while  before,  they  had  no 
such  peculiarities. 

Then  again  we  are  told  that  Adam's  sin  affected  all  his 
posteiity,  as  it  aftected  himself;  giving  them  a  nature 
wholly  corrupt,  and  subjecting  them  to  the  wrath  and 
curse  of  God.  And  in  harmony  with  these  doctrines, 
"  all  the  miseries  of  this  life,  death  itself,  and  the  pains 


THEOLOGICAL   DOCTRINES.  209 

of  hell  forever/'  are  made  the  penalty  of  transgression. 
All  these  evils  are  attributed  to  a  malignant  spirit,  who 
concealed  himself  in  the  body  of  a  serpent,  and  thereby 
deceived  our  mother  Eve. 

388.  That  these  doctrines  have  been  engrafted  upon 
the  divine  record,  without  authority,  and  are  no  part  of 
the  record  itself,  will  be  evident,  in  part  from  what  is  said 
to  the  contrary,  and  in  part  from  the  entire  absence  of 
any  thing  to  sustain  them. 

From  what  can  we  infer  that  God  was  angry  with  our 
first  parents  after  they  had  sinned  ?  The  gentle  voice  of 
the  Almighty,  on  that  occasion  does  not  seem  to  be 
prompted  by  wrath.  No  curse  is  spoken  against  Adam 
and  Eve  or  their  posterity.  Man  is  changed,  sadly 
changed,  but  it  is  not  his  nature  that  is  changed.  He  is 
the  same  man,  now,  in  all  the  essential  attributes  of  his 
being,  that  he  was  before  the  transgression.  His  posterity 
are  like  their  original  progenitor.  They  sin  as  he  sinned 
and  they  suffer  as  he  suffered. 

The  beasts  were  not  changed.  Many  of  them  were 
intended  at  first,  for  destroying  and  feeding  upon  other 
animals.  Their  configuration  shows  this  ;  and  they  had 
this  configuration  before  the  fall,  as  their  fossil  remains 
clearly  indicate.  Men  formed  their  theology  without  a 
knowledge  of  Geological  facts  ;  and  now  as  they  become 
acquainted  with  these  facts,  they  are  compelled  to  make 
corresponding  changes  in  their  religious  systems.  That 
eternal  death  was  threatened  to  Adam,  is  wholly  assumed. 
It  was  not  eternal  death,  but  smiply  death  that  was  an- 
nounced. Nor  this  only  ;  it  was  a  death  that  was  to  be 
suffered,  and  was  suffered,  in  the  day  of  transgression. 
If  "all  the  miseries  of  this  life"  are  the  result  of  sin, 
it  is  certain  that  they  are  not  the  result  of  Adam's  sin. 
"  Death  itself,''  referring  to  natural  death,  is  not  attrib- 
uted to  Adam's  sin,  in  the  record,  but  to  the  fact  that  he 
was  of  earth,  and  must  therefore  return  to  the  earth 
again.  "The  pains  of  hell  forever"  are  not  mentioned. 
That  an  ovil  spirit  was  concerned  in  the  transgression,  is 
an  assumption,  unfounded  and  absurd. 


210  THEOLOGICAL    DOCTRINES. 

389.  The  following  doctrines  we  consider  to  be  plainly 
inculcated  ;  1st,  that  man  is  an  accountable  being  ;  2d, 
that  a  state  of  innocence  is  a  state  of  happiness  ,*  3d, 
that  sin  brings  immediate  and  certain  punishment  ;  and 
4th,  that  sin  will  ultimately  be  destroyed.  All  opposing 
doctrines  are  without  authority. 


PART    III. 


HISTORY  AND  BIOGRAPHY. 


390.  Much  the  largest  part  of  the  book  of  Genesis  is 
comprehended  in  this  division,  though  it  may  not  require 
the  largest  amount  of  discussion.  There  are  but  few 
things  of  a  historical  character,  that  do  not  relate  to  the 
personal  experience  of  the  patriarchs  or  that  of  their  fam- 
ihes.  Most  of  the  record,  therefore,  is  Biography,  rather 
than  History. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

ADAM  AKTD   HIS  FAMILY. 

Contents:  —  Creation  of  Adam  and  Eve ;  Their  Nuptials;  The 
Temptation ;  Family  of  Adam ;  Genealogy  of  Cain  ;  Genealogy 
of  Seth. 

391.  If  it  surprises  us  that  more  is  not  said  of  so  im- 
portant a  personage  as  the  father  of  the  human  race,  our 
surprise  will  be  diminished,  if  not  wholly  removed,  by 
considering  the  imperfect  mode  of  perpetuating  the  knowl- 
edge of  events  that  must  have  existed  at  first,  it  being  by 
tradition,  or  by  writing  in  its  rudest  form.  And  though 
Moses  had  the  means  of  writing  a  more  extended  history 
of  Adam,  the  fact  of  his  having  omitted  to  do  so,   shows 


212 


ADAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


clearly  that  he  obtained  his  knowledge  from  brief  records 
then  in  existence,  and  could  communicate  only  what  lie 
derived  from  that  source.  Hence  it  will  be  observed,  that, 
as  tlie  history  of  early  times  progresses,  it  becomes  more 
full  and  complete,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  the  art  of 
writing,  like  all  other  arts,  had  improved  with  time  ;  and 
of  course  the  facility  of  making  out  historical  records  had 
increased  in  the  same  proportion. 

Several  particulars  connected  with  Adam  and  his  family, 
contained  in  the  sacred  record,  may  be  noticed  separately. 

SECTION  I. — Creation  of  Adam  and  Eve. 
CHAP.  I. 


26.  And  God  said,  Let  us  make 
man  in  our  image,  after  our  like- 
ness ;  and  let  them  have  dominion 
over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over 
the  fowl  of  the  air,  and  over  the 
cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and 
over  every  creeping  thing  that 
crcepeth  upon  the  earth. 

27.  So  God  created  man  in  his 
own  image;  in  the  image  of  God 
created  he  him;  male  and  female 
created  he  them. 

28.  And  God  blessed  them ;  aiid 
God  said  unto  them,  Be  fruitful, 
and  multiply,  and  replenish  the 
earth,  and  subdue  it:  and  have  do- 
minion over  the  fish  of  the  sea,  and 
over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and   over 


every  living  thing    that    moveth 
upon  the  earth. 

29.  IT  And  God  said.  Behold,  I 
have  given  you  every  herb  bearing 
seed,  which  is  upon  the  face  of  all 
the  earth,  and  every  tree,  in  the 
which  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree  yielding 
seed ;  to  you  it  shall  be  for  meat. 

30.  And  to  every  beast  of  the 
earth,  and  to  every  fowl  of  the  air, 
and  to  every  thing  that  creepeth 
upon  the  earth,  wherein  there  is 
life,  I  have  given  every  green  herb 
for  meat :  and  it  was  so. 

31 .  And  God  saw  every  thing  that 
he  had  made,  and,  behold,  it  was 
very  good.  And  the  evening  and 
the  morning  were  the  sLxth  day. 


CHAP.  n. 


4.  These  are  the  generations  of 
the  heavens  and  of  the  earth  when 
they  were  created,  in  the  day  that 
the  Lord  God  made  the  earth  and 
the  heavens. 

.5.  And  every  plant  of  the  field 
before  it  was  in  the  earth,  and  every 
herb  of  the  field  befoi'e  it  grew:  for 
the  Lord  God  liad  not  caused  it  to 
rain  iipon  the  earth ,  and  there  was  ' 

392.  The  purpose  of  God  in  creating  man,  is  said  to 
be,  that  he  might  have  dominion  over  all  subordinate 
creatures.     We  infer  that  he  was  to  subsist  on  such  as 


not  a  man  to  till  the  ground. 

6.  ]5ut  there  went  up  a  mist  from 
the  earth,  and  watered  the  whole 
face  of  the  ground. 

7.  And  the  Lord  God  formed  man 
of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath 
of  life;  and  man  became  a  living 
soul. 


ADAM  AND  HIS   FAMILY.  213 

were  suitable  for  food  ;  as  his  dominion  over  them,  can, 
so  far  as  we  can  see,  have  no  other  practical  advantage. 
In  addition  to  the  flesh  of  animals,  which  we  understand 
to  be  given  him  by  implication,  he  is  expressly  told  that 
he  is  to  have  "every  herb  bearing  seed"  and  ''every 
tree  in  which  is  the  fruit  of  a  tree  yielding  seed  ;"  while 
"every  green  herb "  simply,  was  to  be  food  for  other 
animals.  A  distinction  between  the  food  of  men  and 
animals  seems  to  be  had  in  view  ;  but  this  distinction  is 
not  very  clearly  marked  ;  and  a  general,  rather  than  a 
specific  and  invariable  rule,  must  have  been  intended. 

393.  The  image  of  God,  in  which  man  was  created, 
we  have  spoken  of  elsewhere.  So  also  the  usage  of  the 
expression,   "  Let  us  make  man.''    p.  195,  54,55. 

So  much  of  the  above  passage  as  relates  to  man's 
creation  from  the  dust  of  the  ground,  is  simply  a  repe- 
tition of  the  account  in  chapter  first,  (Comp.  §  292,) 
with  this  variation  only  ;  that,  while  the  first  account 
comprehends  both  a  spiritual  and  physical  creation,  the 
last  makes  allusion  only  to  the  latter.  A  "  living  soul  " 
is  not  a  spiritual  and  immortal  being,  in  the  Bible  sense 
of  that  expression,  but  simply  a  living  creature,  and  may 
apply  to  animals,  and  is  applied  to  them,  as  well  as  to 
men.  The  creation  of  man  in  the  image  of  God,  is  the 
only  allusion  to  the  spiritual  and  immortal  part  of  our 
nature,  contained  in  the  account  of  man's  creation. 

394.  Gen.  ii.  4,  contains  an  appellation  of  Deity  that 
had  not  been  before  employed  ;  and  this  fact  has  been  a 
matter  of  speculation  with  interpreters.  In  the  previous 
account,  the  Deity  is  called  "God;"  he  is  now  desig- 
nated as  "  Lord  God  : "  and  this  expression  is  continued 
through  the  second  and  third  chapters,  with  two  or  three 
exceptions,  and  in  some  other  passages.  This  matter  is 
discussed  in  another  place  to  which  the  reader  is  referred, 
pp.  18-20. 


214 


ADAM   AND  HIS  FAMILY. 


SECTION  II.  — Nuptials  of  Adam  and  Eve. 


CHAP.  n. 


18.  IT  And  the  Lord  God  said, 
It  is  not  good  that  the  man  should 
be  alone;  I  will  make  him  an  help 
meet  for  him. 

19.  And  out  of  the  ground  the 
Lord  God  formed  every  beast  of 
the  field,  and  evei-y  fowl  of  the  air; 
and  brought  them  unto  Adam  to 
see  what  he  would  call  them:  and 
whatsoever  Adam  called  every  liv- 
ing creature,  that  was  the  name 
thereof. 

20.  And  Adam  gave  names  to 
all  cattle,  and  to  the  fowl  of  the 
air,  and  to  every  beast  of  the  field; 
but  for  Adam  there  was  not  found 
an  help  meet  for  him. 

21 .  And  the  Lord  God  caused  a 
deep  sleep  to  fall  upon  Adam,  and 


he  slept;  and  he  took  one  of  his 
ribs,  and  closed  up  the  flesh  instead 
thereof; 

22.  And  the  rib,  which  the  Lord 
God  had  taken  from  man,  made  he 
a  woman,  and  brought  her  unto 
the  man. 

23.  And  Adam  said.  This  zs  now 
bone  of  my  bones,  and  flesh  of  my 
flesh:  she  shall  be  called  Woman, 
because  she  was  taken  out  of  Man. 

24.  Therefore  shall  a  man  leave 
his  father  and  his  mother,  and 
shall  cleave  unto  his  wife:  and  they 
shall  be  one  flesh. 

25.  And  they  were  both  naked, 
the  man  and  his  wife,  and  were 
not  ashamed. 


395.  It  will  be  observed  by  the  careful  reader,  that, 
in  the  middle  of  the  Bible  account  of  the  Garden  of 
Eden  and  the  Temptation,  there  is  another  subject  intro- 
duced, that  seems  to  have  no  immediate  connection  with 
it.  The  writer  gives  us  a  description  of  the  Garden,  and 
mentions  the  prohibition  put  upon  man. 

He  then  suspends  the  record,  and  introduces  the  nam- 
ing of  the  beasts,  and  the  making  of  a  help  meet  for 
Adam.  After  this,  he  resumes  the  subject  of  the  tempta- 
tion and  the  attending  circumstances.  How  is  this  sin- 
gular procedure  to  be  accounted  for  ? 

This  matter  is  not  without  its  difficulties.  The  com- 
mon idea  is,  that  the  historian  goes  back  to  relate  some 
circumstances  that  had  taken  place  before,  and  that  he 
describes  the  exact  manner  in  which  the  woman  was 
made,  as  he  had  before  only  given  us  the  simple  foot  of 
hor  creation  in  connection  with  that  of  man.  We  have 
what  we  deem  a  better  interpretation  of  this  subject. 
The  creation  of  woman  had  several  times  been  referred 
to.  She  was  created  when  man  was,  i.  27,  and  obviously 
in  the  same  way.  Both  were  made  of  the  dust  of  the 
ground  ;  for,  though  this  language  is  found  in  chapter 


ADAM   AND  HIS  FAMILY.  215 

second,  it  refers  to  the  same  creation  as  that  mentioned 
in  chapter  first,  and  like  that  relates  to  the  female  as  well 
as  the  male  ;  the  term  man  including  both.  And  if  it  be 
true  that  woman  was  made  of  the  dust,  it  is  not  true  that 
she  was  made  of  one  of  the  ribs  of  Adam.  And  when 
it  is  said  that  God  breathed  into  man  the  breath  of  life, 
and  he  became  a  living  soul,  the  reference  is  to  both. 
So  both  were  made  in  the  image  of  God.  And  when 
God  planted  a  garden,  and  placed  there  the  man  whom 
he  had  formed,  the  meaning  is,  that  he  placed  there  both 
the  man  and  the  woman.  The  prohibition  was  evidently 
given  to  both.  God  called  "  their  name  Adam  (or 
man)  in  the  day  when  they  were  created,''  v.  2  ;  and  of 
course  what  is  said  of  Adam,  or  of  man,  in  these  prelim- 
inary statements,  applies  to  both  ;  and  this  fact  excludes 
the  idea  that  woman  was  made  by  a  process  diff'erent 
from  man. 

396.  Again  ;  there  is  nothing  in  the  connection,  where 
the  creation  of  woman  from  one  of  man's  ribs  is  men- 
tioned, to  require  an  allusion  to  her  original  creation,  but 
only  to  the  relation  she  sustained  to  Adam.  Such  rela- 
tion seemed  necessary  to  be  understood,  to  account  for 
man's  ready  yielding  to  her  solicitations,  as  well  as  her 
subjection  to  the  man  alluded  to  afterwards.  And  it  is 
this  relation,  and  not  her  first  creation,  that  we  suppose 
the  writer  had  in  view  in  this  passage. 

397  We  regard  the  whole  of  what  is  here  said  of  the 
woman,  (and  we  think  the  naming  of  the  beasts  should 
be  included  in  the  same  view,)  as  a  divine  vision. 
Explained  thus,  it  is  easy  to  understand  it.  The  deep 
sleep,  brought  upon  Adam,  was  not  designed,  as  the 
common  opinion  is,  that  he  might  not  feel  the  pain  of  a 
surgical  operation  ;  but  it  was  a  requisite  condition  for 
viewing,  with  his  mental  organs,  the  instructive  scene 
that  was  to  pass  before  him.  With  this  view,  we  sup- 
pose the  beasts  of  the  field,  the  fowls  of  the  air,  &c.,  to 
have  passed  before  him  to  receive  their  name  ;  (and  in  a 
vision,  not  unlike  a  dream,  this  could  be  done,  in  a  very 
brief  space,  though  to  do  it  literally,  would  require  a 
long  period,  as  well  as  being  altogether  unnecessary:) 
but  the  whole  line  of  subordinate  creatures  offers  no  one 


21G  ADAM  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 

suitable  to  be  his  companion.  The  Lord  then  takes  from 
him  one  of  his  ribs,  and  makes  a  woman,  or  wife,  as  the 
word  also  means,  and  gives  her  to  him,  as  a  companion. 
Adam  comprehends  the  purpose  of  the  vision,  takes  the 
woman  for  a  wife,  calls  her  name  Eve,  as  about  to  become 
the  mother  of  the  whole  human  race,  and  cherishes  her 
as  bone  of  his  bones  and  flesh  of  his  flesh. 

398.  It  is  worthy  of  inquiry  whether  the  passage  itself 
does  not  clearly  require  this  construction.  "  A  deep 
sleep  fell  upon  Adam,  and  he  slept."  Is  not  this  plainly 
tautological?  After  telling  us  that  *^  a  deep  sleep  fell 
upon  him, '^  why  add,  that  ''he  slept.''  Such  an  addi- 
tion is  of  course  superfluous.  Ought  we  not  then  to 
understand  the  term  here  rendered  '*  deep  sleep,"  as 
meaning  something  else  or  more,  than  simply  sleep. 
The  Septuagint  uses  a  word  for  deep  sleep,  that  properly 
denotes  an  ecstacy  or  vision  ;  and  we  And  the  same 
Hebrew  word  employed  in  this  sense  in  other  places. 
A  deep  sleep  (the  same  word  in  the  original)  fell  upon 
Abram,  xv.  12 ;  and  while  in  that  state,  sundry  commu- 
nications were  made  to  him,  a  covenant  entered  into,  and 
the  ratifying  sacrifices  performed. 

399.  If  it  be  said  that  woman  was  made  from  one  of 
man's  ribs,  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  Adam  the  nature 
of  the  marriage  relation,  (the  only  reason  for  the  pro- 
cedure that  we  can  conceive  of,)  we  reply,  that  a  vision, 
wherein  these  things  were  enacted,  would  be  equally  in- 
structive, without  involving  any  difliculty  or  absurdity. 
That  God  can  perform  wonders,  by  the  exercise  of  his 
miraculous  power,  we  cheerfully  admit  —  that  he  has  done 
this,  in  numerous  instances,  we  firmly  believe  ;  but  that 
he  exercises  his  power  in  any  extraordinary  way,  to 
accomplish  an  object  that  can  as  well  be  accomplished 
by  its  ordinary  exercise,  we  are  not  at  liberty  to  suppose. 
We  see  no  reason  why  the  creation  of  woman  should  be 
peculiar,  and  arrived  at  by  a  process  entirely  unlike  the 
creation  of  man  ;  and  as  the  passage  that  seems  to  set 
forth  such  an  idea,  can  be  rationally  explained  in  another 
way,  such  interpretation  ought  to  be  adopted. 


ADAM   AND  HIS  FAMILY. 


217 


SECTION  III.— The  Temptation. 

400.  The  nature  of  the  temptation,  and  the  imagery 
with  which  it  is  set  forth,  we  have  discussed  elsewhere. 
See  p.  203-210.  That  our  first  parents  were  morally 
responsible  to  the  Creator  —  that  they  could  obey  or  dis- 
obey the  divine  requirements  as  they  pleased  —  that  they 
were  tempted  and  yielded  to  temptation  —  sinned  and 
were  punished  —  arc  the  clear  and  explicit  statements  of 
the  sacred  historian.  The  account  we  have  of  the  fall, 
shows  them  to  have  been  the  exact  representatives  of 
men  at  the  present  day  and  of  all  past  days.  They  were 
tempted  as  we  are  —  they  were  led  astray  by  a  similar 
deception,  that  there  is  pleasure  in  sin,  and  that  punish- 
ment is  uncertain  ;  and  like  us,  too,  they  learned,  too 
late,  that  the  way  of  the  transgressor  is  hard. 


SECTION  lY.  —Family  of  Adam  and  Eve. 


CHAP.  IV. 


1 .  And  Adam  knew  Eve  his  wife ; 
and  she  conceived,  and  bare  Cain, 
and  said,  I  have  gotten  a  man  from 
the  Lord. 

2.  And  she  again  bare  his  brother 
Abel.  And  Abel  was  a  keeper  of 
sheep,  bat  Cain  was  a  tiller  of  the 
ground. 

3.  And  in  process  of  time  it  came 
to  pass,  that  Cain  brought  of  the 
fruit  of  the  ground  an  offering  unto 
the  Lord. 

4.  And  Abel,  he  also  brought  of 
the  firstlings  of  his  flock  and  of  the 
fat  thereof.  And  the  Lord  had  re- 
spect unto  Abel  and  to  his  offering : 

5.  But  unto  Cain  and  to  his  offer- 
inji  he  had  not  respect.  And  Cain 
was  very  wroth,  and  his  counte- 
nance fell. 

6.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Cain, 
Why  art  thou  wroth  ?  and  why  is 
thy  countenance  fallen  ? 

7.  If  thou  doest  well,  shalt  thou 
not  be  accepted  ?  and  if  thou  doest 

10 


not  well ,  sin  lieth  at  the  door.  And 
unto  thee  shall  be  his  desire,  and 
thou  shalt  rule  over  him. 

8.  IT  And  Cain  talked  with  Abel 
his  brother  :  and  it  came  to  pass, 
when  they  were  in  the  field,  that 
Cain  rose  up  against  Abel  his 
brother,  and  slew  him. 

9.  IT  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Cain,  Where  is  Abel  thy  brother? 
And  he  said,  I  know  not:  A7n  I  my 
brother's  keeper  ? 

10.  And  he  said,  What  hast  thou 
done  ?  the  voice  of  thy  brother's 
blood  crieth  unto  me  from  the 
ground. 

11.  And  now  art  thou  cursed 
from  the  earth,  which  hath  opened 
her  mouth  lo  receive  thy  brother's 
blood  from  thy  hand. 

12.  When  thou  tillest  the  ground, 
it  shall  not  henceforth  yield  unto 
thee  her  strength ;  a  fugitive  and  a 
vagabond  shalt  thou  be  in  the  earth. 

13.  And  Cain  said  unto  the  Lord 


218  ADAM  AND   HIS  FAMILY. 


My  punishment  is  greater  than  I 
can  bear, 

14.  Behokl,  thou  hast  driven  me 
out  this  day  from  the  face  of  the 
earth;  and  from  thy  face  shall  I  be 
hid ;  and  I  shall  be  a  fugitive  and  a 
vagabond  in  the  earth;  audit  shall 
come  to  pass,  that  every  one  that 
tindeth  me  shall  slay  me. 

15.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  him, 


Therefore  whosoever  slayeth  Cain, 
vengeance  shall  be  taken  on  him 
seven-fold.  And  the  Lord  set  a 
mark  upon  Cain,  lest  any  finding 
bim  should  kill  him. 

16.  11  And  Cain  went  out  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord  ,  and  dwelt 
in  the  land  of  Nod ,  on  the  east  of 
Eden. 


401.  The  reason  why  God  had  respect  unto  Abel  and 
his  oliering,  was  not  that  one  ofiering  was  intrinsically 
better  than  the  other  ;  but  because  it  was  prompted  by 
difl'erent  motives,  or  was  accompanied  by  a  better  dispo- 
sition and  character.  This  is  plain  from  what  follows  •  — 
"If  thou  doest  well,  shalt  thou  not  be  accepted?"'  The 
employment  of  both  was  equally  honorable,  and  equally 
according  to  divine  appointment.  Man  was  to  ha\e 
dominion  over  the  beasts,  and  he  was  to  cultivate  the 
earth.  Abel  did  the  first,  and  Cain  the  last.  The  fruits 
of  the  field,  therefore,  and  the  firstlings  of  the  flock,  were 
alike  worthy  of  the  divine  approval.  Both  are  made 
offerings  under  the  law  of  Moses. 

402.  The  right  of  primogeniture  's  recognized  in  this 
passage.  Cain,  as  first  born,  was  permitted  to  exercise 
authority  over  his  brother.  This  afterwards  became  an 
established  usage. 

403.  "And  Cain  talked  with  Abel  his  brother"  —  or 
"  Cain  said  to  Abel  his  brother" — But  what  did  he  say  ? 
There  is  evidently  an  omission  in  the  Hebrew  ;  but  the 
Greek  version  supplies  it  thus  ;  —  And  Cain  said  unto  Abel 
his  brother,  Let  us  go  into  the  field.  The  passage  then 
proceeds  as  in  our  version. 

404.  The  voice  of  thy  brother's  blood  crieth  unto  me 
from  the  ground.  Had  not  Cain  sought  to  conceal  his 
murderous  act  by  burying  his  victim  in  the  ground  ?  and 
was  not  the  language  of  God  accommodated  to  this  cir- 
cumstance '{ 

405.  The  punishment  of  Cain  was,  that  he  should  be  a 
fugitive  and  a  vagabond  in  the  earth.  These  two  words, 
fugitive  and  vagabond,  have  nearly,  if  not  exactly,  the 


ADAM  AND  HIS    FAMILY.  219 

same  meaning,  and  are  here  combined,  according  to  a 
Hebrew  idiom,  for  the  sake  of  emphasis.  The  intention 
is  to  show  how  great  a  vagabond  he  would  be  ;  in  other 
words,  how  forlorn  and  wretched  would  be  his  condition. 
He  would  be  cursed  from  the  earth,  or  by  the  earth  — the 
earth  would  curse  him  —  it  would  not  yield  unto  him  its 
strength  ;  not  that  it  would  not  bring  forth  its  productions 
because  he  cultivated  it ;  but  because  his  vagabond  and 
wandering  life  would  not  permit  him  to  be  sufficiently 
permanent  to  cultivate  it  and  reap  its  fruits. 

406.  The  mark  placed  upon  Cain  has  puzzled  interpre- 
ters. Some  have  thought  he  became  black,  and  was  the 
progenitor  of  the  African  race.  This  theory  does  not 
meet  the  case,  unless  we  suppose  that  some  of  his  de- 
scendants escaped  the  flood.  A  mark  of  guilt  and  con- 
demnation that  would  make  him  an  object  of  compassion, 
and  thus  prevent  his  being  slain,  is  perhaps  all  that  need 
be  understood  ;  and  we  need  not  suppose  a  deviation  from 
the  ordinary  laws  of  the  human  mind,  to  account  for  all 
that  is  here  said. 

407.  Cain  dwelt  in  the  land  of  Nod.  The  word  Nod 
means  a  vagabond  ;  and  the  passage  may  be  rendered, 
either  as  it  now  is,  in  which  case  we  may  suppose  the 
place  to  have  been  named  from  him,  as  being  a  vagabond  ; 
or  it  may  be  rendered  that  he  "  dwelt  in  the  land,  a  vag- 
abond," without  designating  where  that  land  was,  except 
that  it  was  east  of  Eden. 

Another  of  Adam's  sons  was  Seth,  who  was  in  the 
likeness  of  Adam  ;  but  the  particulars  of  his  life  are  not 
given. 

Besides  these  sons,  Adam  is  said  to  have  had  sons  and 
daughters  ;  and  tradition  makes  the  number  of  them  to  De 
very  great,  but  this  is  only  conjecture. 


220 


ADAM  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 


SECTION  V.  —  Death  of  Adam  and  Eve. 

408.  Adam  died  at  the  age  of  930  years ;  but  the  age 
of  Eve  is  not  given,     v.  5. 

We  might  speculate  upon  many  things  connected  with 
the  life  and  experience  of  the  first  human  pair  ;  and  our 
speculations  might  not  be  far-fetched  or  unreasonable  ; 
but  our  business  is  with  the  simple  record,  and  not  with 
speculations  and  conjectures,  however  just  and  plausible 
they  may  be. 


SECTION  YI.  —  GexXealogt  of  Cain. 
CHAP   IV. 


17.  And  Cain  knew  his  wife  : 
and  she  conceived,  and  hare  Enoch : 
and  he  builded  a  city,  and  called 
the  name  of  the  city,  after  the  name 
of  his  son,  Enoch. 

18.  And  unto  Enoch  was  born 
Irad ;  and  Irad  begat  Mehujael :  and 
Meliujael  begat  Methusael :  and 
Methusael  begat  Lamech. 

19  ^  And  Lamech  took  unto 
him  two  wives:  the  name  of  the  one 
was  Adah,  and  the  name  of  the 
other  Zdlah. 

20.  And  Adah  bare  Jabal:  he 
was  the  father  of  such  as  dwell  in 
tents,  and  of  sack  as  have  cattle. 


21.  And  his  brother's  name  was 
Jubal:  he  was  the  father  of  all  such 
as  handle  the  harp  and  organ. 

22.  And  Zillah,  she  also  bare 
Tubal-cain,  an  instructer  of  every 
artificer  in  brass  and  iron:  and  the 
sister  of  Tubal-cain  was  Naaraah. 

23.  IT  And  Lamech  said  unto  his 
wives,  Adah  and  Zillah,  Hear  my 
voice,  ye  wives  of  Lamech,  hearken 
unto  my  speech:  for  I  have  slain  a 
man  to  my  wounding,  and  a  young 
man  to  my  hurt. 

24.  If  Cain  shall  be  avenged 
sevenfold,  truly  Lamech  seventy 
and  sevenfold. 


409.  Of  these  persons  but  little  is  recorded.  The 
name  of  the  first  son  of  Cain  was  given  to  the  first  city 
we  read  of  in  the  Bible. 

410.  Lamech  had  two  wives  :  and  the  mention  of  this 
circumstance  leads  us  to  infer  that  such  a  thing  was  not 
common,  even  with  that  branch  of  the  family  of  Adam, 
which  may,  and  may  not,  have  been  more  corrupt  than 
the  other. 

411.  Each  of  the  sons  of  Lamech  is  distinguished  by 
a  particular  profession  ;  in  other  words,  he  stood  at  the 
head  of  a  clan  :  distinguished  by  the  business  here  de- 
scribed. It  is  not  improbable  that  Lamech  had  other 
sons,  but  not  being  thus  distinguished,  they  are  passed 
over  in  silence.  Doubtless  other  persons  on  this  list  had 
sons  ;  but,  for  the  same  reason,  they  are  not  mentioned. 


ADAM  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 


221 


412.  The  language  of  Lamech  to  his  wives  is  some- 
what ambiguous,  and  may  require  a  word  of  explanation. 
It  seems  to  have  something  of  the  form  and  spirit  of 
poetry,  and  maybe  arranged  thus: — And  Lamech  said 
unto  his  wives,  Adah  and  Zillah  — 

Hear  my  voice,  ye  wives  of  Lamech; 

Hearken  unto  my  speech; 

For  I  have  slain  a  man  to  my  wounding. 

And  a  young  man  to  my  hurt. 

If  Cain  shall  be  avenged  seven-fold. 

Surely  Lamech,  seventy  and  seven-fold. 

Is  not  the  meaning  this: — I  have  slain  a  man  for 
wounding  me,  and  a  young  man  for  hurting  me  ;  that  is. 
I  have  killed  a  man  in  my  own  defence.  If,  therefore,  he 
who  should  kill  Cain,  for  having  slain  his  brother  without 
provocation,  should  be  punished  sevenfold  ;  surely,  he 
that  shall  be  avenged  upon  Lamech,  who  only  killed  a 
man  in  his  own  defence,  ought  to  be  punished  seventy 
and  seven-fold.  This  construction  of  the  passage  makes 
it  convey  a  consistent  sentiment ;  and  the  original  is 
equally  well  rendered. 

413.  It  may  be  added,  as  worthy  of  notice,  that 
Lamech,  though  living  several  generations  after  Cain, 
was  aware  of  the  guilt  of  his  ancestor,  and  of  the  lan- 
guage of  God  to  him  in  view  of  his  guilt.  And  though 
the  language  here  quoted  by  Lamech  had  been  trans- 
mitted only  by  tradition,  it  seems  to  be  accurately 
represented. 

SECTION  VII.  —  Genealogy  of  Seth. 


CHAP.  V. 


1.  This  is  the  book  of  the  gene- 
rations of  Adam.  In  the  day  that 
God  created  man,  in  the  likeness 
of  Gorl  made  he  him ; 

2.  Male  and  female  created  he 
them;  and  he  blessed  them,  and 
he  called  their  name  Adam,  in  the 
day  when  they  were  created. 

3.  'IT  And  Adam  lived  an  hun- 
dred and  thirty  years,  and  begat  a 
son  in  his  own  likeness,  after  his 


image;  and  called  his  name  Seth: 

4.  And  the  days  of  Adam  after 
he  had  begotten  Seth,  were  eight 
hundred  years:  and  he  begat  sons 
and  daughters: 

5.  And  all  the  days  that  Adam 
lived  were  nine  hundred  and  thirty 
years:  and  he  died. 

6.  IT  And  Seth  lived  an  hundred 
and  five  years,  and  begat  Enos, 

7.  And  Seth  lived  aifter  he  begat 


222 


ADAM  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 


Enos  eight  hundred  and  seven 
years,  and  begat  sons  and  daugh- 
ters: 

8.  And  all  the  days  of  Seth  were 
nine  hundred  and  twelve  years: 
and  he  died. 

9.  IT  And  Enos  lived  ninety  years, 
and  begat  Cainaii: 

10.  And  Enos  lived  after  he  be- 
gat Cainan  eight  hundred  and  fif- 
teen years,  and  begat  sons  and 
daughters; 

1 1 .  And  all  the  days  of  Enos  were 
nine  hundred  and  five  years:  and  he 
died. 

12.  IT  And  Cainan  lived  seventy 
years,  and  begat  Mahalaleel: 

13.  And  Cainan  lived  after  he 
begat  Mahalaleel  eight  hundred  and 
forty  years,  and  ^begat  sons  and 
daughters: 

14.  And  all  the  days  of  Cainan 
were  nine  hundred  and  ten  years  : 
and  h3  died. 

15.  And  Mahalaleel  lived  sixty 
and  five  years,  and  begat  Jared:   ! 

16.  And  Mahalaleel  lived  after  he 
begat  Jared  eight  hundred  and  thir-  j 
ty  years,  and  begat  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. ! 

17.  And  all  the  days  of  Mahalaleel  i 
were  eight  hundred  ninety  and  five 
years:  ?nd  he  died. 

18.  IT  And  Jared  lived  a  hundred 
sixty  and  two  years,  and  he  begat 
Enoch: 

19.  And  Jared  lived  after  he  be- 
gat Enoch  eight  hundred  years, 
and  begat  sons  and  daughters: 

20.  And  all  the   days  of  Jared 


were  nine  hundred  sixty  and  two 
years:  and  he  died. 

21.  IT  And  Enoch  lived  sixty  and 
five  years,  and  begat  Methuselah: 

22.  And  Enoch  walked  with  God 
after  he  begat  Methuselah  three 
hundred  years,  and  begat  sons  and 
daughters: 

23.  And  all  the  days  of  Enoch 
were  three  hundi-ed  sixty  and  five 
years: 

24.  And  Enoch  walked  with  God : 
and  he  was  not;  for  God  took  him. 

25.  IT  And  Methuselah  lived  an 
hundred  eighty  and  seven  years, 
and  begat  Lamech : 

26.  And  Methuselah  lived  after 
he  begat  Lamech  seven  hundred 
eighty  and  two  years,  and  begat 
sons  and  daughters: 

27.  And  all  the  days  of  Methu- 
selah were  nine  hundred  sixty  and 
nine  years:  and  he  died. 

28.  IT  And  Lamech  lived  an  hun- 
dred eighty  and  two  years,  and  be- 
gat a  son : 

29.  And  he  called  his  name  No- 
ah, saying,  This  same  shall  comfort 
us  concerning  our  work  and  toil  of 
our  hands,  because  of  the  ground 
which  the  Lord  hath  cursed. 

30.  And  Lamech  lived  after  he 
begat  Noah  five  hundred  ninety 
and  five  years,  and  begat  sons  and 
daughters: 

31.  And  all  the  days  of  Lamech 
were  seven  hundred  seventy  and 
seven  years:  and  he  died. 

32.  IT  And  Noah  was  five  hun- 
dred years  old:  and  Noah  begat 
Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth. 


414.  Setli  is  spoken  of  as  being  born  in  the  image  and 
likeness  of  Adam,  which  can  have  but  one  of  two  mean- 
ings. One  is,  that  Seth  had  the  same  physical  form  as 
Adam  ;  but  a  thing  so  obvious  would  not  have  been 
mentioned.  It  is  much  more  reasonable  to  conclude, 
that  there  is  a  reference  to  his  temper  and  disposition. 


ADAM  AND  HIS  FAmLY. 


223 


415.  Seth  is  spoken  of  in  another  place  thus  :  — 


CHAP.    IV. 


26.  And  to  Seth,  to  him  also 
there  was  born  a  son ;  and  he  called 
his  name  Enos;  then  began  men  to 
call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord, 


25.  IT  And  Adam  knew  his  wife 
again;  and  she  bare  a  son,  and 
called  his  name  Seth :  for  God ,  said 
she,  hath  appointed  me  another  seed 
instead  of  Abel ,  whom  Cain  slew. 

He  was  regarded,  as  appears  from  this  passage,  as 
intended  to  1111  the  place  of  Abel,  whom  Cain  slew.  The 
position  of  first  born  was  assigned  him,  as  Cain  had 
justly  forfeited  that  right ;  and  there  was  no  other  on 
whom  it  could  be  conferred.  Hence  he  is  placed  at  the 
head  of  the  permanent  genealogical  record.  Enos,  son 
of  Seth,  is  spoken  of  in  the  same  passage,  and  it  is  said 
that  in  his  day  men  began  to  call  on  the  name  of  the 
Lord,  which  may  be  understood  as  complimentary  to  that 
personage. 

416.  Enoch  walked  with  God  ;  and  he  was  not,  for  God 
took  him.  This  language  obviously  teaches  that  Enoch 
was  a  good  man,  but  that  he  did  not  die  a  natural  death, 
we  do  not  consider  quite  so  plain,  though  this  has 
been  the  almost  universal  interpretation.  He  did  not  live 
to  the  usual  age  of  the  ancient  patriarchs  ;  and  therefore 
it  is  said  that  God  took  him,  or  took  him  away,  that  is, 
by  an  early  death.  The  importance  attached  to  this  one 
instance  of  piety  and  goodness,  would  lead  us  to  infer 
that  the  other  names  on  the  list,  were  not  worthy  of  any 
such  commendation.  Some  of  them,  it  is  reasonable  to 
presume  were  corrupt,  as  well  as  the  rest  of  the  world, 
and  perhaps  to  the  same  extent.  It  is  certain  that  Methu- 
selah, the  son  of  Enoch,  died  in  the  year  of  the  deluge  ; 
but  whether  he  was  swept  away  by  the  deluge,  does  not 
appear. 

417.  That  Lamech,  the  father  of  Noah,  was  impressed 
with  the  consciousness  that  his  son  was  to  fill  an  impor- 
tant place  among  the  men  of  that  degenerate  age,  is 
certain,  from  the  language  he  uses  concerning  him  ;  but 
whether  he  is  to  be  understood  literally  or  figuratively, 
does  not  certainly  appear.  We  suppose  the  last,  since 
the  cursing  of  the  earth  in  the  time  of  Adam,   to  which 


224  ADAM  AND   HIS  FAMILY. 

reference  is  here  made,  is  unquestionably  to  be  so  under- 
stood, as  we  have  shown  in  another  place. 

418.  The  remark  made  respecting  each  person  on  this 
genealogical  list,  that  "he  had  sons  and  daughters,'' 
besides  the  particular  son  named  in  the  list,  need  not 
always  be  understood  as  referring  to  sons  and  daughters 
born  after  the  one  named  ;  for  we  know  that  the  first 
born  was  sometimes  displaced,  and  a  later  son  assigned 
his  position.  This  was  so  with  Cain,  first  son  of  Adam  ; 
and  it  is  not  an  unreasonable  conclusion  that  the  same 
thing  may  have  occurred  with  others. 

419.  Some  interpreters  have  thought  that  men  did  not 
live  to  so  great  an  age,  as  they  are  here  represented  ;  and 
they  have  conjectured  that  some  difierent  mode  of  reck- 
oning time  from  ours,  must  have  been  employed  ;  but  we 
know  of  nothing  to  sustain  the  theory.  It  is  quite  certain 
that  the  writer  had  no  mode  of  reckoning  essentially  dif- 
ferent from  ours.  This  is  obvious  from  what  he  tells  us 
of  the  commencement,  duration  and  termination  of  the 
deluge.  His  months  were  thirty  days,  and  his  years 
twelve  months  ;  and  though  the  weeks  are  not  so  dis- 
tinctly marked,  the  mention  of  seven  days,  several  times, 
renders  it  probable  that  they  reckoned  weeks  also  as  we 
reckon  them.  Besides,  if  we  suppose  that  a  year  was 
only  a  month,  or  some  other  short  period,  and  thus  avoid 
what  we  conceive  to  be  a  difiiculty,  shall  we  not,  by  this 
new  mode  of  reckoning,  involve  ourselves  in  other  difiS- 
culties  no  less  formidable  ?  It  is  obvious  that  while  we 
reduce  the  age  of  the  oldest  of  the  patriarchs  to  such 
limits  as  may  suit  us,  we  must  reduce  the  age  of  the 
younger  ones  in  the  same  proportion.  How  will  this  plan 
succeed  ?  Supposing  a  month  to  be  regarded  as  a  year, 
we  make  the  age  of  Methuselah  to  be  a  trifle  over  eighty 
years.  So  far  the  plan  works  well,  for  we  can  easily 
believe  men  to  have  lived  before  the  flood  to  that  age,  as 
we  have  known  them  to  live  so  long  in  our  day.  But 
applying  the  rule  to  the  father  of  Methuselah  :  it  does  not 
work  so  well :  for  Enoch  begat  Methuselah  at  the  age  of 
sixty  five,  which  reduced  in  the  same  ratio,  would  make 
him  a  little  overj^ue  years  when  his  son  was  born  ! 


ADAM  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 


225 


420.  The  truth  is,  that  the  present  duration  of  life,  is 
to  us  more  credible,  simply  because  it  is  one  to  which  we 
are  accustomed,  and  not  because  there  is  any  natural 
reason  why  it  should  be  so.  If  the  time  ever  comes,  as 
possibly  it  may,  when  men  are  old  at  thirty,  and  seldom 
live  beyond  that  age,  there  will  not  be  wanting  those  who 
will  endeavor  to  show  that,  never  in  the  history  of  the 
world,  have  men  lived  to  the  incredible  age  of  one  hundred 
years,  though,  by  a  peculiar  use  of  words,  or  mode  of 
reckoning,  historians  may  seem  to  so  represent  them. 
One  impression  that  seems  to  prevail,  relating  to  this 
subject,  should  be  corrected  in  this  place.  The  change 
from  the  great  age  of  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  world,  to 
the  present  standard,  was  not  sudden,  as  seems  to  be 
commonly  thought,  but  was  gradual,  extending  over  a 
long  period.  The  different  ages  from  Adam  to  Joseph 
stand  thus:  — 930,  912,  905,  910,  895,  962,  365,  969, 
177,  950,  600,  438,  433,  464,  239,  230,  148,  205,  175, 
180,  147,  110. 

421.  Again  ;  the  understanding  we  have  of  vi.  1-4, 
helps  to  confirm  the  idea  of  the  great  longevity  of  those 
ancient  times.     The  passage  is  as  follows :  — 

CHAP  VI. 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  men 
began  to  multiply  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  and  daughters  were  born  un- 
to them, 

2.  That  the  sons  of  God  saw  the 
daughters  of  men  that  they  were 
fiir ;  and  they  took  them  wives  of 
all  which  they  chose. 

3.  And  the  Lord  said.  My  Spirit 
shall  not  always  strive  with  man. 


for  that  he  also  is  flesh:  yet  his  days 
shall  be  an  hundred  and  twenty 
years. 

4.  There  were  giants  in  the  earth 
in  those  days;  and  also  after  that, 
when  the  sons  of  God  came  in  unto 
the  daughters  of  men ,  and  they  bare 
children  to  them,  the  same  became 
mighty  men,  which  were  of  old, 
men  of  renown. 


The  "  sons  of  God"  were  simply  men,  and  the  "  daugh- 
ters of  men,"  were  simply  women  ;  and  the  giants  of  those 
days,  we  take  to  be  men  of  great  stature,  as  well  as  pro- 
longed age.  The  meaning  is,  that  the  men  of  those  days, 
as  well  as  their  immediate  descendants,  were  of  gigantic 
stature,  in  comparison  with  those  who  lived  at  a  later  day 
when  the  account  was  written.  The  phrase  "of old" 
shows  that  the  writer  is  speaking  of  times  that  were  an- 


226  NOAH   AND  HIS  FAMILY. 

cient  to  himself,  and  of  course  that  he  regards  them  in  the 
way  of  contrast  with  those  of  his  own  times.  With  this 
view,  which  is  an  exceedingly  natural  one, we  remove  at 
once  the  vain  and  absurd  speculations  of  men  concerning 
this  passage  ;  and  the  whole  subject  becomes  more  con- 
sistent, as  there  seems  great  propriety  in  supposing  that 
the  stature  and  age  of  men  should  correspond.  We  may 
add  one  or  two  circumstances  by  way  of  confirmation. 
We  know  that  animals  and  vegetables,  during  the  fossil 
epochs,  were  much  larger  than  any  that  are  now  found 
in  the  same  regions  of  country  where  these  existed.  May 
we  not  then  infer  that  when  man  was  made,  and  forages 
afterwards,  they  were  of  larger  stature  than  they  were  at 
a  later  day  —  this  being  true  of  man  as  of  other  animals 
—  the  same  principle  prevailing  that  had  prevailed  before, 
requiring  a  gradual  decrease  in  size  to  correspond  with 
the  decrease  of  temperature.  Notice  again,  that  as  we 
might  expect,  not  only  individuals  but  whole  tribes,  of 
more  than  common  size,  are  alluded  to  at  a  later  day ; 
and  again  that  human  relics  of  great  magnitude,  have 
been  found  in  all  parts  of  the  world. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

NOAH  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 

Contents.  —  Incidental  notices  of  Noah  ;  Noah  Blessed  j  Covenant 
with  Noah  ;  Noah's  Prediction  ;  Death  of  Noah ;  Genealogy  of 
Shemj  Of  Ham;  Of  Japheth. 

SECTION  I. —  iNcmENTAL  References  to  Noah. 

422.  Noah  was  son  of  Lamech  in  the  lineage  of  Adam 
through  Seth,  and  was  five  hundred  j^ears  old  when  his 
sons  were  born.  He  was  regarded  by  his  fatlier  as  one 
that  should  fill  an  important  place  in  that  age.  v.  28-32. 
Other  notices  of  Noah  will  be  found  in  the  following  pas- 
sages where  he  is  spoken  of  in  connection  with  the  flood. 


NOAH   AND  HIS  FAMILY.  227 


CHAP.  VI. 


8.  But  Noah  found  grace  in  the  I  perfect  in  his  g:enerations,an«f  Noah 
eyes  ot  the  Lord.  1  walked  with  God. 

9.  IT  These  are  the  generations  of  I  10.  And  Noah  begat  three  sons, 
Noah:  Noah  was  a  just  man,  and  \  Shem,  Ham,  and  Japheth. 

This  is  a  noble  commendation,  to  which  it  is  several 
times  added  that  "  Noah  did  according  to  all  that  God 
commanded  him."  vi.  22  ;  vii.  5. 

CHAP.  vn. 

6.  And  Noah  was  six  hundred  years  old  when  the  flood  of  waters 
was  upon  the  earth. 

And  his  sons  were  about  one  hundred  years  old  at  this 
time.     Compare  v.   32. 

423.  The  transactions  of  Noah  in  the  ark  hardly  need 
a  word  of  explanation.  They  are  such  as  would  naturally 
suggest  themselves  under  the  circumstances.  The  raven 
went  to  and  fro  till  the  waters  were  dried  up  from  ofl"  the 
earth.  That  the  raven  returned  to  Noah,  is  not  asserted. 
It  was  not  necessary  to  do  so,  to  obtain  food,  as  the  dead 
carcasses  that  floated  upon  the  water,  would  aflbrd  it 
nourishment  fitted  to  its  nature  and  wants.  The  dove 
returned  to  Noah,  and  at  length  brought  to  him  an  olive 
leaf,  from  which  he  knew  that  the  waters  were  greatly 
diminished,  and  that  the  land  would  soon  be  dry.  It  has 
been  argued  that  the  ark  could  not  have  rested  on  Mount 
Ararat,  as,  nowhere  in  that  vicinity,  is  the  olive  to  be 
found ;  but  it  may  be  replied  that  we  have  no  statement 
where  the  olive  leaf  was  obtained  ;  and  we  knov/  the 
dove  could  have  obtained  it,  at  a  great  distance,  and  not 
be  gone  long  from  Noah. 

CHAP.  VIII. 


20.  And  Noah  builded  an  altar 
unto  the  Lokd  ;  and  took  of  every 
clean  beast,  and  of  every  clean 
fowl,  and  oflfered  burnt  oiferings 
on  the  altar 

21.  And  the  Lord  smelled  a  sweet 
savor:   and  the  Lord  said  in  his 


for  the  imagination  of  man's  heart 
is  evil  from  his  youth ;  neither  will 
I  again  smite  any  more  every  thing 
living,  as  I  have  done. 

22.  While  the  earth  remaineth, 
seed-time  and  harvest,  and  cold 
and  heat,  and  summer  and  winter, 


heart,  I  will  not  again  curse  the  ■^  and  day  and  night  shall  not  cease, 
ground  any  more  for  man's  sake;  | 


228  NOAH  AND  HIS    FAMILY. 

424.  The  ofieriug  of  sacrifices  is  mentioned  in  connec« 
tion  with  Cain  and  Abel ;  and  now  in  conformity  with 
ancient  custom,  and  on  an  occasion  when  it  would  seem 
specially  fit  to  do  so,  Noah  selects  a  suitable  number  of 
clean  animals  and  offers  them  as  an  offering  to  the  Lord. 

SECTION  II.  — Noah  Blessed. 

CHAP.  IX. 
1.  And  God  blessed  Noah  and  his       4.  But  flesh  with  the  life  thereof, 


Bons,  and  said  unto  them,  Be  fruit- 
ful, and  multiply,  and  replenish 
the  earth. 


ivhich  is  the  blood  thereof,  shall  yo 
Hot  eat. 

5.  And  surely  your  blood  of  vour 


2.  And  the  fear  of  you  and  the  i  lives  will  I  require;  at  the  hand  of 
dread  of  you  shall  be  upon  every  j  e\ery  beast  will  I  require  it,  and  at 
beast  of  the  earth,  and  upon  evejy     the  hand  of  man;  at  the  hr.nd  of 


fowl  of  the  air,  upon  all  that  mov. 
eth  upon  the  earth,  and  upon  all 
the  fishes  of  the  sea ;  into  your  hand 
are  they  delivered. 

3.  Every  moving  thing  that  liv- 
eth  shall  be  meat  fur  you ;  even  as 
the  green  herb  have  I  given  you  all 
things. 


every  man's  brother  will  I  require 
the  life  of  man. 

6.  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood, 
by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed:  for 
in  the  image  of  God  made  he  man. 

7.  And  you,  be  ye  fruitful,  and 
multiply ;  bring  forth  abundantly 
in  the  earth,  and  multiply  therein. 


425.  "  Be  fruitful  and  multiply  and  replenish  the 
earth,"  is  the  same  languag-e  as  that  addressed  to  Adam 
and  Eve  at  first,  except  that  the  clause  "  subdue  it ''  is 
omitted,  which  was  not  now  as  necessary  as  then.  The 
parallel  reaches  farther.  The  "fear  and  dread '^  that 
were  upon  every  beast  of  the  field,  &c.,  is  substantially 
the  same  as  the  "  dominion  "  over  the  beasts  given  to 
Adam.  And  when  it  is  added,  in  the  same  connection, 
"  Every  moving  thing  that  liveth  shall  be  meat  for  you," 
we  infer  that  the  same  thing  was  implied  in  the  original 
grant,  and  that  animal  food,  as  well  as  vegetable,  was 
intended  for  Adam  as  well  as  for  Noah. 

426.  "  The  flesh,  with  the  life  thereof,  which  is  the 
blood  there;)f,  shall  ye  not  eat."  The  life  was  first  to  be 
taken  by  the  shedding  of  the  blood;  after  which  the 
flesh  was  to  be  eaten.  "And  surely  your  blood  of  your 
lives  will  T  require."  Viewing  this  with  reference  to 
what  goes  before,  and  placing  the  emphasis  properly, 
and  we  shall  have  the  true  sense  of  this  difficult  passage. 
It   was  the  same  as  to  say  :  —  The  blood  of  animals,  in 


NOAH  AND   HIS  FAMILY.  229 

other  words,  the  life  of  animals,  is  given  over  to  you. 
You  may  slay  and  eat  as  you  have  occasion ;  but  your 
life  or  blood /require.  That  is  to  be  held  sacred.  At 
the  hand  of  every  beast  will  I  require  it,  and  at  the  hand 
of  man ;  at  the  hand  of  every  man's  brother  will  I  re- 
quire the  life  of  man.  I  command  every  man  to  respect 
the  life  of  his  brother,  and  to  protect  and  defend  it.  Let 
the  reader  bear  in  mind  that  these  statements  are  made 
with  reference  to  man's  relation  to  the  beasts,  and  to  the 
exposure  of  human  life  thereby  implied. 

427.  This  will  prepare  us  to  understand  that  much 
controverted  passage  :  —  "  Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood, 
by  man  shall  his  blood  be  shed."  We  do  not  doubt  that 
"  whoso,"  (which,  in  the  original,  may  refer  to  animals 
as  well  as  to  men,  depending  on  the  connection  and  cir- 
cumstances,) has  reference  here  to  animals  ;  and  the 
meaning  is,  that  wild  and  dangerous  animals  are  to  be 
destroyed,  though  not  intended  for  food.  Whoso  (the 
animal  that)  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his 
blood  be  shed.  The  reason  given  for  what  is  here  stated, 
is  exceedingly  appropriate,  with  this  construction,  "  In 
the  image  of  God  made  he  man."  Man,  by  his  nature, 
is  placed  above  the  beasts. 

428.  Several  reasons  favor  this  view  of  the  passage. 
One  is,  that  God  would  not  be  likely  to  require  us  to  act 
upon  a  principle  on  which  he  did  not  himself  act,  in  a 
similar  case.  Cain  committed  murder,  and  under  very 
aggravated  circumstances.  God  sat  in  judgment  upon 
the  crime,  and  pronounced  sentence  of  condemnation 
upon  the  criminal.  But  the  punishment  was  banishment, 
and  not  death.  This  is  not  all.  Whoever  should  slay 
the  offender,  should  himself  be  punished  with  a  severer 
infliction.  Is  it  reasonable  to  conclude  that  a  principle 
here  approved,  should  so  soon  be  repudiated  :  and  a  prin- 
ciple here  condemned,  should  so  soon  be  enjoined  as  a 
rule  of  action  ?  But  the  reason  assigned,  that  man  is 
made  in  the  image  of  God,  is  opposed  to  the  common 
views.  Is  not  the  murderer  made  in  the  image  of  God, 
as  well  as  his  victim  ?  and  if  so,  the  same  reason  should 
prevail  against  killing  him,  that  should  have  restrained 
him  from  killing  his  brother.     It  may  be  added  that  the 


230 


NOAH   AND    HTS   FAMILY. 


life  of  man  is  required  at  the  hand  of  the  beast,  as  well 
as  at  the  hand  of  man  ;  and  hence  any  violation  of  the 
command  on  the  part  of  the  former,  should  be  punished 
with  death,  as  well  as  with  the  latter.  And  those  who 
adopt  the  common  construction,  show  great  inconsist- 
ency, in  allowing  the  beast  to  escape,  while  they  inflict 
the  penalty  upon  man.  If  one  should  be  hung  up  by  the 
neck  tor  the  ofience,  we  see  no  reason  why  the  other 
should  not  be. 

SECTION  III.  — The  Covenant   with  Noah. 


CHAP.  IX. 


8.  IT  And  God  spate  unto  Noah, 
and  to  his  sons  with  him,  saying, 

9.  And  I,  behold,  I  establish  my 
covenant  'with  you,  and  with  your 
seed  after  you ; 

10.  And  "with  every  living  crea- 
ture that  is  "with  you,  of  the  fowl, 
of  the  cattle,  and  of  every  beast  of 
the  earth  with  you;  from  all  that 
go  out  of  the  ark,  to  every  beast  of 
the  earth. 

11.  And  I  will  establish  my  cove- 
nant with  you  ;  neither  shall  all 
flesh  be  cut  off  any  more  by  the  wa- 
ters of  a  flood ;  neither  shall  there 
any  more  be  a  flood  to  destroy  the 
earth. 

12.  And  God  said.  This  is  the 
token  of  the  covenant  which  I  make 
between  me  and  you  and  every  liv- 
ing creature  that  is  with  you,  for 
perpetual  generations: 

13.  I  do  set  my  bow  in  the  cloud, 


and  it  shall  be  for  a  token  of  a  cov- 
enant between  me  and  the  earth. 

14.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
when  I  bring  a  cloud  over  the  earth, 
that  the  bow  shall  be  seen  in  the 
cloud: 

15.  And  I  will  remember  my  cov- 
enant, which  in  between  me  and  you 
and  every  living  creature  of  all 
flesh;  and  the  waters  shall  no  more 
become  a  flood  to  destroy  all  flesh. 

16.  And  the  bow  shall  be  in  the 
cloud ;  and  1  will  look  upon  it,  that 
I  may  remember  the  everlasting 
covenant  between  God  and  every 
living  creature  of  all  flesh  that  is 
upon  the  earth. 

17.  And  God  said  unto  Noah, 
This  is  the  token  of  the  covenant, 
which  I  have  established  between 
me  and  all  flesh  that  is  upon  the 
earth. 


429.  It  is  not  necessary  to  suppose  that  the  bow  was 
set  in  the  clouds  at  the  time  this  covenant  with  Noah  was 
entered  into. 

I  have  set  my  bow  in  the  clouds  :  and  it  shall  be  for  a 
token,  &c.,  would  be  a  better  rendering.  The  bow  had 
always  been  in  the  clouds,  when  the  position  of  the  sun 
and  of  the  clouds  was  such  as  to  produce  it.  It  was 
hereafter  to  be  looked  upon  as  a  memento  of  the  divine 
promise,  that  there  should  no  more  be  a  flood  upon  the 
earth.     The  reason  of  this  arrangement  is  found  in  the 


NOAH   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


231 


association  of  ideas.  As  often  as  the  beautiful  bow  was 
seen,  it  would  remind  the  beholder  of  the  gracious  promise 
of  which  it  was  the  token. 

430.  That  God,  as  well  as  men,  would  look  upon  the 
bow  and  remember  his  covenant,  is  language  that  can  be 
understood  only  as  accommodated  to  common  modes  of 
speech  among  men.  It  cannot  be  literally  true  of  thfl 
Divine  Being,  who  needs  no  such  expedients  to  remina 
him  of  his  promises*      Compare  p.  41-43. 


SECTION  IV.  — Noah's  Prediction. 


CHAP.  IX. 


18.  If  And  the  sons  of  Noah,  that 
•went  forth  of  the  ark,  were  Shem, 
and  Ham,  and  Japheth:  and  Ham 
15  the  fither  of  Canaan. 

19.  These  are  the  three  sons  of 
Noah:  and  of  them  was  the  whole 
earth  overspread. 

20.  xlnd  Noah  began  to  be  a  hus- 
bandman, and  he  planted  a  -vine- 
yard: 

21.  And  he  drank  of  the  wine, 
and  was  drunken ;  and  he  was  un- 
co vered  within  his  tent. 

22.  And  Ham,  the  father  of  Ca- 
naan, saw  the  nakedness  of  his 
father,  and  told  his  two  brethren 
without. 

23.  And  Shem  and  Japheth  took 
a  garment,  and  laid  it  upon  both 


their  shoulders,  and  went  back- 
ward, and  covered  the  nakedness  of 
their  father ;  and  their  faces  were 
backward,  and  they  saw  not  their 
father's  nakedness. 

24.  And  Noah  awoke  from  his 
wine,  and  knew  what  his  younger 
son  had  done  unto  him. 

25.  And  he  said,  Cursed  6e  Cana- 
an ;  a  servant  of  servants  shall  he 
be  unto  his  brethren. 

26.  And  he  said,  Blessed  he  the 
Lord  God  of  Shem ;  and  Canaan 
shall  be  his  servant. 

27.  God  shall  enlarge  Japheth, 
and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of 
Shem ;  and  Canaan  shall  be  his  ser- 
vant. 


431.  Noah  planted  a  vineyard  and  drank  of  the  wine. 
That  the  juice  of  the  grape  would  become  wine  and  pro- 
duce inebriety,  could  have  been  learned  at  first  only  by 
sundry  experiments,  assisted  by  mere  accident,  perhaps, 
as  is  not  unfrequently  the  case.  It  is  not  improbable  that 
wine  existed  before  the  flood,  as  the  writer  here  does  not 
seem  to  speak  of  it  as  a  new  thing  ;  but  of  this  we  know 
nothing  certainly.  The  idea  is  entertained  by  some  that 
Noah  was  the  first  one  that  used  it,  and  not  being  fully 
acquainted  with  its  qualities  and  effects,  he  became  unin- 
tentionally intoxicated.  This  maybe  the  correct  opinion 
and  it  may  not,  as  there  seems  to  be  no  way  of  deciding 
this  question. 


232  NOAH   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 

432.  His  exposure  in  his  tent,  and  the  conduct  of  his 
sons,  are  circumstances,  not  mentioned  because  of  their 
importance  in  themselves,  but  as  showing  the  occasion 
of  the  prediction  that  followed  which  was  important. 
Nor  need  we  suppose  that  the  curse  upon  Canaan  for  the 
sins  of  his  father,  was  uttered  merely  as  pointing  out  the 
punishment  of  that  sin.  Canaan  was  the  father  of  the 
Canaanites  ;  and  the  prediction  of  Noah  points  to  the 
subjugation  of  that  people  by  the  Israelites,  as  well  as 
their  subjngaUun  generally  to  the  different  branches  of 
Noah's  family. 

That  Noah  was  divinely  inspired  when  he  uttered  this 
prediction,  will  doubtless  be  regarded  by  many  as  unques- 
tionable. This  may  be  a  correct  idea  ;  but  it  is  not  an 
unwarrantable  supposition  that,  when  it  became  known 
by  Abraham  and  others  of  his  family,  that  Canaan  should 
become  their  inheritance,  any  remark  of  Noah,  indicating 
the  subjection  of  the  Canaanites,  would  be  so  applied, 
though  it  might  not  originally  have  been  uttered  with  any 
such  intention. 

433.  Ham  is  called  the  younger  son,  Japheth  the  elder ; 
but  this  fact  seems  to  have  had  no  influence  on  the  order  in 
which  they  are  mentioned,  ix.  24;  x.  21.  Shem,  Ham, 
and  Japheth  is  the  order  in  which  they  are  named  in  the 
record,  and  the  order  in  which  we  habitually  refer  to 
them. 

SECTION  v.  — Death  07  No  AH. 

CHAP.  IX. 


28.  IT  And  Noah  lived  after  the 
flood  three  hundred  and  fifty  years. 

29.  And   all  the  days  of  Noah 


were  nine  hundred  and  fifty  years; 
and  he  died. 


434.  The  history  of  Noah's  sons  is  not  given  us,  ex- 
cept that  each  of  them  is  represented  as  having  several 
c5ons  found  on  their  genealogical  records,  to  which  refer- 
ence may  be  had.  That  they  had  daughters,  too,  is  a 
reasonable  inference,  and  of  Shem  is  expressly  stated ; 
but  their  names  are  omitted.  The  age  of  neither  son  is 
given  us,  except  that  we  infer  from  what  is  said  of  Shem, 
that  he  died  at  the  age  of  six  hundred  years,    xi.  10,  11. 


NOAH  AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


233 


SECTION  yi.  —  Genealogy  of  Shem. 


CHAP.  X. 

21.  IT  Unto  Shem  also ,  the  father 
of  all  the  children  of  Eber,  the 
brother  of  Japheth  the  elder,  even 
to  him  were  children  horn. 

22.  The  children  of  Shem ;  Elam, 
and  Asshur,  and  Arphaxad,  and 
Lud  and  Aram. 

23.  And  the  children  of  Aram; 
Uz,  and  Hul,  and  Gether,  and 
Mash. 

24.  And  Arphaxad  begat  Salah ; 
and  Salah  begat  Eber. 

25.  And  unto  Eber  were  born 
two  sons:  the  name  of  one  was 
Peleg;  for  in  his  days  was  the 
earth  divided;  and  his  brother's 
name  was  Joktan. 

26.  And  Joktan  begat  Almodad , 
and  Sheleph,  and  Hazarmaveth, 
and  Jerah, 

27.  And  Hadoram,  and  Uzal, 
and  Diklah, 

28.  And  Obal,  and  Abimael,  and 
Sheba, 

29.  And  Ophir,  and  Havilah, 
and  Jobab:  all  these  were  the  sons 
of  Joktan 

30.  And  their  dwelling  was  from 
Mesha,  as  thou  goest  unto  Sephar 
a  mount  of  the  east. 

31.  These  are  the  sons  of  Shem, 
after  their  families,  after  their 
tongues,  in  their  lands,  after  their 
nations. 

32.  These  are  the  fimilies  of  the 
sons  of  Noah,  after  their  genera- 
tions, in  their  nations:  and  by 
these  were  the  nations  divided  in 
the  earth  after  the  flood. 


CHAP.  XL 

10.  IT  These  are  the  generations 
of  Shem:  Shem  was  an  hundred 
years  old,  and  begat  Arphaxad 
two  years  after  the  flood: 

11.  And  Shem  lived  after  he  be- 
gat Arphaxad  five  hundred  years, 
and  begat  sons  and  daughters. 

12.  And  Arphaxad  lived  five  and 
thirty  years,  and  begat  Salah: 

13.  And  Arphaxad  lived  after  he 
begat  Salah  four  hundred  and 
three  years,  and  begat  sons  aad 
daughters. 

14.  And  Salah  lived  thirty  years, 
and  begat  Eber: 

15.  And  Salah  lived  after  he  be- 
gat Eber  four  hundred  and  three 
years,  and  begat  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. 

16.  And  Eber  lived  four  and 
thirty  years,  and  begat  Peleg: 

17.  And  Eber  lived  after  he  be- 
gat Peleg  four  hundred  and  thirty 
years,  and  begat  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. 

18.  And  Peleg  lived  thirty  years, 
and  begat  Reu: 

19.  And  Peleg  lived  after  he  be- 
gat Reu  two  hundred  and  nine 
years,  and  begat  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. 

20.  And  Reu  lived  two  hundred 
and  thirty  years,  and  begat  Serug: 

21.  And  Reu  lived  after  he  begat 
Serug  two  hundred  and  seven 
years,  and  begat  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. 

22.  And  Serug  lived  thirty  years, 
and  begat  Nahor: 

23.  And  Serug  lived  after  he  be- 
gat Nahor  two  hundred  years,  and 
begat  sons  and  daughters. 

24.  And  Nahor  lived  nine  and 
twenty  years,  and  begat  Terah: 

25  And  Nahor  lived  after  he  b&- 
gat  Terah  an  hundred  and  nineteen 
years,  and  begat  sons  and  daugh- 
ters. 

26.  And  Terah  lived  seventy 
years,  and  begat  Abram,  Nahor, 
and  Haran. 


234  NOAH  AND    HIS  FAMILY. 

435.  That  Shem  was  tKe  father  of  all  the  children  of 
Heber,  is  a  remark  that  seems  intended  for  a  particular 
purpose ;  and  by  supposing  that  the  Israelites,  who  be- 
long to  this  lineage,  took  the  name  of  Hebrews  from 
Heber,  here  mentioned,  that  special  reference  to  this 
individual,  will  be  accounted  for  ;  nor  is  there  any  other 
so  good  reason  for  the  reference,  nor  any  other  so  good 
a  way  to  account  for  the  name  Hebrews,  being  applied 
to  that  people. 

436.  Asshur,  mentioned  on  this  list,  as  one  of  the 
sons  of  Shem,  we  are  told  in  x.  11,  went  out  from  the 
land  of  Shinar  and  builded  Nineveh  and  the  city  Reho- 
both  and  Calah  and  Resen,  between  Nineveh  and  Calah  ; 
and  the  first  of  these  we  know  became  a  city  of  great 
magnificence.  It  is  generally  understood,  too,  that 
Assyria,  the  country  where  these  cities  were  located,  took 
its  name  from  Asshur. 

437.  In  the  days  of  Peleg  the  earth  was  divided. 
The  name  Peleg  (signifying  division)  was  given  him  in 
view  of  this  circumstance.  But  what  division  of  the 
earth  was  here  intended,  cannot  be  determined  with 
accuracy.  The  reference  may  be  to  some  natural  con- 
vulsion which  the  earth  underwent  in  that  country  ;  and 
we  know  that  such  things  were  common  in  that  early 
age.  It  is  more  probable,  however,  that  there  is  an  allu- 
sion to  some  civil  division  of  the  country,  whereby  each 
family  or  tribe  had  a  definite  portion  assigned  them. 
This  is  confirmed  by  some  subsequent  references.  The 
sons  of  Joktan  "  had  their  dwelling  from  Mesha  as  thou 
goest  unto  Sephar,  a  mountain  of  the  east."  The 
meaning  is,  that  this  tract  of  country  was  assigned  to 
these  families  in  the  division  referred  to.  It  is  added 
again,  with  a  more  general  reference  :  —  "  These  are  the 
sons  of  Shem,  after  their  families,  after  their  tongues,  in 
their  lands,  after  their  nations."  And  again:  "These 
are  the  families  of  the  sons  of  Noah,  after  their  genera- 
tions, in  their  nations  ;  and  by  these  were  the  nations 
divided  in  the  earth,  after  the  flood." 

438.  In  this  genealogy  it  is  said  that  Arphaxad  begat 
Salah;  but  the  Septuagint  or  Greek  version,  says,  that 
Arphaxad  begat  Cainan,  and  Cainan  begat  Salah.     The 


NOAH   AND  HIS  FAMILY. 


235 


New  Testament  follows  the  Greek  version.     See  Luke, 
iii.  35,  36. 

SECTION  VII.   —  Genealogy  of  Ham. 


CHAP.  X. 


6.  IT  And  the  sons  of  Ham ;  Cush, 
and  Mizraim,  and  Phut,  and  Ca- 
naan. 

7.  And  the  sons  of  Cush;  Seba, 
and  Havilah,  and  Sabtah,  and  Ra- 
amah,and  Sabtecha:  and  the  sons 
of  ilaamah:  Sheba,  and  Dedan. 

8.  And  Cush  begat  Nimrod:  he 
began  to  be  a  mighty  one  in  the 
earth, 

9.  He  was  a  mighty  hunter  be- 
fore the  Lord:  wherefore  it  is  said, 
Even  as  Nimrod  the  mighty  hunt- 
er before  the  Lord. 

10.  And  the  beginning  of  his 
kingdom  was  Babel,  and  Erech, 
and  Accad,  and  Calneh,  in  the  land 
of  Shinar. 

11.  Out  of  that  land  went  forth 
Asshur,  and  builded  Nineveh,  and 
the  city  of  Rehoboth,  and  Calah, 

12.  And  Resen  between  Nineveh 
and  Calah;  the  same  is  a  great 
city. 

13.  And  Mizraim  begat  Ludim, 


and  Anamim,  and  Lehabim,  and 
Naphtuhim, 

14.  And  Pathrusim,  and  Caslu- 
him,  (out  of  whom  came  Philis- 
tim,)  and  Caphtorim. 

15.  IT  And  Canaan  begat  Sidon 
his  first-born,  and  Ileth. 

16.  And  the  Jebusitc,  and  the 
Amorite,  and  the  Girgasite. 

17.  And  the  Hivite,  and  the  Ar- 
kite,  and  the  Sinite. 

Ih'.  And  the  Arvadite,  and  the 
Zemarite,  and  the  Hamathite:  and 
afterward  were  the  families  of  the 
Canaanites  spread  abroad. 

19.  And  the  border  of  the  Ca- 
naanites was  from  Sidon,  as  thou 
comcst  to  Gerar,  unto  Gaza^  as 
thou  goest  unto  Sodom,  and  Go- 
morrah, and  Admah,  and  Zeboim, 
even  unto  Lasha. 

20.  These  are  the  sons  of  Ham, 
after  their  families,  after  their 
tongues,  in  their  countries,  and  in 
their  nations. 


439.  The  most  important  personage  on  this  list,  is 
Nimrod,  the  mighty  hunter.  He  was  so  distinguished  in 
his  profession  as  to  be  the  occasion  of  a  proverb  :  — 
"  Even  as  Nimrod  the  mighty  hunter  before  the^  Lord." 
The  beginning  of  his  kingdom,  that  is,  its  chief  city,  was 
Babel,  afterwards  called  Babylon,  to  which  the  writer 
adds  others  of  less  importance,  Erech  and  Accad  and 
Calneh.  They  were  all  in  the  land  of  Shinar.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  confusion  of  tongues,  is  to  be  placed  in 
the  time  of  Nimrod,  if  not  still  earlier. 

440.  Canaan  was  the  father  of  the  Canaanites,  as  is 
evident  from  the  names  given  to  the  tribes,  mentioned  in 
other  places,  as  belonging  to  that  country,  and  corres- 
ponding with  those  here  designated.     The  names  Jebu- 


236 


NOAH  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 


site,  Amorite,  Girgasite,  &c.,  are  not,  as  we  might  infer, 
the  names  of  individual  sons  of  Canaan,  as  were  Sidon 
and  lleth  ;  but  they  are  national  designations.  The 
meaning  is,  that  these  tribes  came  from  Canaan,  whatever 
may  have  been  the  name  (which  the  writer  might  not 
have  known)  of  the  sons  through  whom  they  came.  The 
same  remark  will  apply  to  Mizraim,  Ludim,  Anamim, 
&c.  ;  for  these  endings  [He  and  m)  are  the  usual  termi- 
nations when  tribes  and  nations  are  designated.  Miz- 
raim  is  another  name  for  Egyptians  ;  and  it  is  believed 
that  these  people  are  here  intended.  Philistim  from 
Casluhim,  is  another  name  for  Philistines,  who  are  many 
times  referred  to  in  the  subsequent  history. 

441  Confusion  of  Tongues.  —  It  seems  Tery  proper 
to  speak  of  the  confusion  of  tongues  in  connection  with 
the  race  of  Ham,  as  Tsimrod,  one  of  this  race,  had  Babel 
for  the  capital  of  his  kingdom  ;  and  it  is  not  certain  but 
all  that  is  said  of  that  event  has  reference  to  this  branch 
of  the  family  of  Noah.  The  confusion  of  tongues  is  de- 
scribed thus : — 


CHAP.  XI. 


1.  And  the  whole  earth  was  of 
one  lanj^uage,  and  of  one  speech. 

2.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  they 
journeyed  from  the  east,  th;it  they 
found  apbxin  intheland  ofShinar; 
and  they  dwelt  there. 

3.  And  they  said  one  to  another. 
Go  to,  let  us  make  brick,  and  burn 
them  thoroughly.  And  they  had 
brick  tor  stone,  and  slime  had  they 
for  mortar. 

4.  And  they  said.  Go  to,  let  us 
build  us  a  city  and  a  tower,  whose 
top  may  reach  unto  heaven;  and 
let  us  make  us  a  name,  lest  we  be 
scattered  abroad  upon  the  face  of 
the  whole  earth. 

5.  And  the  Lord  came  down  to 
see  the  city  and  the  tower,  which 
the  children  of  men  builded. 


6.  And  the  Lord  said.  Behold, 
the  people  is  one,  and  they  have 
all  one  language;  and  this  they  be- 
gin to  do:  and  now  nothing  will 
be  restrained  from  them,  which 
they  have  imagined  to  do. 

7.  Go  to,  let  us  go  down,  and 
there  confound  their  language, 
that  they  may  not  understand  one 
another's  speech. 

8.  So  the  Lord  scattered  them 
abroad  from  thence  upon  tlie  face 
of  :ill  the  earth:  and  they  left  ofl  to 
build  tlie  city. 

9.  Therefore  is  the  name  of  it 
called  Babel;  because  he  Lord 
did  there  confound  the  language 
of  all  the  earth :  and  from  thence 
did  tlie  Lord  scatter  them  abroad 
upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth. 


Josephus  supposes  that  the  purpose  had  in  view,  in 
building  the  tower  of  Babel,  was  to  provide  a  place  of 


NOAH  AND  HIS  FAMILY.  237 

refuge  in  case  of  another  deluge  ;  but  why  they  should 
have  built  this  tower  upon  a  plain,  rather  than  upon  a 
mountain,  and  by  that  means,  made  themselves  so  much 
more  labor,  this  author  does  not  explain  :  and  probably 
did  not  see  the  diflSculty.  Besides  ;  this  view  seems 
hardly  compatible  with  what  is  said  in  the  passage  itself. 
It  was  not  to  provide  themselves  a  place  of  refuge,  but 
to  make  themselves  a  name,  that  they  undertook  this 
work.  It  was  also  to  keep  themselves  from  being  scat- 
tered abroad  upon  the  earth.  No  evil  intention  is  as- 
cribed to  the  projectors  of  this  scheme.  Still,  being 
adverse  to  the  design  of  the  Creator,  which  was  that  man 
should  be  scattered  abroad  upon  the  earth,  the  project 
was  not  allowed  to  succeed. 

442.  From  the  remark  with  which  this  account  begins, 
that  the  whole  earth  was  of  one  language  and  one  speech, 
the  inference  has  been  drawn  that  the  confounding  of  lan- 
guage here  alluded  to,  consisted  in  breaking  up  the  old 
forms  of  speech  and  introducing  a  great  number  and 
variety  of  tongues  in  the  place  of  the  one  that  had  before 
prevailed.  This  is  not  a  necessary  conclusion.  All  being 
of  one  language,  may  be  mentioned  as  the  ground  on 
which  they  expected  to  succeed  ;  but  the  confusion  intro- 
duced into  that  language,  shows  that  their  expectations 
were  not  well  grounded.  The  ground  of  their  confident 
expectation  failed  them  by  a  divine  providence.  To  con- 
found their  language,  so  that  they  may  not  understand 
one  another's  speech,  does  not  necessarily,  nor  naturally 
imply  the  destruction  of  the  old  language  and  the  intro- 
duction of  new  ones.  Their  language  was  confounded, 
not  destroyed.  They  did  not  understand  one  another's 
speech  ;  not  because  they  spake  diiferent  languages,  but 
because  of  some  difficulty  in  speaking  their  own,  or  in 
understanding  it ;  (orhearing  it,  as  the  word  may  mean  ;) 
the  cause  of  this  difficulty  not  being  stated.  Sudden 
convulsions  of  the  earth,  induced  by  natural  causes,  but 
ascribed  by  the  ancients  to  the  immediate  agency  of  God, 
inducing  fear  and  agitation  in  the  multitude  of  laborers, 
or  the  loaders  in  the  work,  and  various  and  conflicting 
.opinions  in  their  counsels,  would  be  all  that  would  be 
necessary  to  bring  about  the  result  here  announced.     We 


238  NOAH  AND  HIS  FAMILY. 

do  not  deny  that  there  was  a  miraculous  interposition  ; 
but  we  deny  the  necessity  of  any  unnatural  cause  to  bring 
about  an  equally  unnatural  result.  The  miracle,  if  there 
were  such,  consisted  in  the  occurrence  of  natural  events, 
at  a  particular  time,  and  to  accomplish  a  specific  pur- 
pose  —  a  purpose  that  resulted  very  naturally  from  the 
cause  that  produced  it. 

The  style  of  the  language  here  employed  has  been  dis- 
cussed elsevv  here  to  which  the  reader  is  referred,  §  72-78. 

SECTION  YIIL  — Genealogy  of  Japheth. 

CHAP.  X. 

1.  Now  these  arc  the  generations  '  kenaz,  and  Riphath,  and  Togar- 
of  the  sons  of  Noah;   Shem,  Ham,    mah. 

and  Japheth;  and  unto  them  were  !  4.  And  the  sons  of  Javan;  Eli- 
sons  born  after  the  flood.  shah,  and  Tarshish,   Kittim,   and 

2.  The  sons  of  Japheth ;  Gomer,    Dodanim. 

and  Magog,  and  Madai,  and  Ja- :  5.  By  these  were  the  isles  of  the 
van,  I  Gentiles    divided  in  their  lands; 

and  Tubal,  and  Meshech,  and  Tiras.  [everyone  after  his  tonirue,  after 

3.  And  the  sons  of  Gomer ;  Ash-  i  their  families,  in  their  nations. 

443.  "  By  these  were  the  isles  of  the  Gentiles  divided, 
in  their  lands,  every  one  after  his  tongue,  after  their 
families,  in  their  nations."  The  division  here  referred  to, 
is  probably  the  same  as  that  before  noticed,  as  taking 
place  in  the  days  of  Peleg. 

444.  Josephus  gives  us  the  different  nations  that  orig- 
inated from  the  sons  of  Noah  as  follows; — "Jupbeth, 
the  son  ol  Noah,  had  seven  sons.  They  inhabited,  so  that, 
beginning  at  the  mountains  of  Taurus  and  Amanus,  they 
proceeded  along  Asia  as  far  as  the  river  Tanais,  and  along 
Europe  to  Cadiz  ;  and  settling  themselves  on  the  lands 
they  lighted  upon,  they  called  the  nations  by  their  own 
names.  For  Gomer  founded  those  which  the  Greeks  now 
call  Gallatians,  (Galls,)  but  were  themselves  called 
Gomerites.  Magog  founded  those  that  from  him  were 
named  Magogites,  but  who  are  by  the  Greeks  called 
Scythians. 

Josephus  goes  on  to  say  that  Madai  was  the  founder 
of  the  Medeans  or  Medes  ;  Javan  settled  Ionia,  and  all 
the  Grecians  originated  from  him.     The  Iberes  sprung 


NOAH  AND  HIS   FAMILY.  239 

from  Tubal,  and  the  Capadocians  from  Meshech.  A 
city  among  them  called  Mazaca  he  thinks  took  its  name 
from  Meshech.  Tiras  originated  the  Thracians.  He 
traces  the  Rhtginians  to  Ashkenaz,  son  of  Gomer,  and 
the  Paphligonians  to  Riphath,  and  the  Phrigians  to  To- 
garmah. 

445.  The  children  of  Ham,  he  says,  possessed  the  land 
of  Syria  and  Amanus  and  the  mountains  of  Libanus. 
Cush  ruled  over  the  Ethiopians,  sometimes  called  Cushites, 
Mizraim  is  another  name  for  the  Egyptians.  Phut  founded 
Lyhia  ;  Canaan  gave  name  to  Judea,  once  called  Canaan. 
Saba  founded  the  Sabeans,  Havilah  the  Getulians,  Sabta 
the  Astaborians,  Sabtekah  settled  Sabacteus,  Raamah 
originated  the  Ragmans,  &c.  All  the  children  of  Miz- 
raim, being  eight  in  number,  possessed  the  country  from 
Gaza  to  Egypt  :  though  it  retained  the  name  of  one  only, 
the  Philistim  ;  for  the  Greeks  called  part  of  the  country 
Palestine.  As  for  the  rest,  Ludim,  Anamim,  &c.,  we 
know  nothing  except  their  names. 

446.  The  sons  of  Canaan,  Josephus  disposes  of  thus  ; 
—  Sidon  built  Sidon  ;  Hamathite  settled  Epiphania.  Hi- 
vite  possessed  Acre.  But  for  the  seven  others,  Heth, 
Jcbusite,  Amorite,  Girgasite,  Sinite,  Arvadite,  and  Zem- 
arite,  we  have  nothing  in  the  sacred  books  ;  for  the  He- 
brews overthrew  their  cities.  That  is,  as  we  understand 
Josephus,  there  is  nothing  in  the  sacred  books  concerning 
them,  after  the  Hebrews  overthrew  their  cities  ;  for,  till 
that  time,  several  of  these  tribes  are  often  mentioned  in 
the  Jewish  writings. 

447.  Shem  had  five  sons  who  inhabited  from  the  Eu- 
phrates to  the  Indian  Ocean.  Elam  gave  name  to  the 
Elamites  or  Persians  ;  Asshur  to  the  Assyrians:  Arphaxad 
to  the  Chaldeans  ;  Aram  to  the  Syrians  ;  Lud  to  the  Lyd- 
ians  ;  Uz  son  of  Aram,  settled  Trachonitis  and  Damascus  ; 
Hal  founded  Armenia  ;  Gether  originated  the  Bactreans; 
Mash  the  Messaneans  Heber  gave  name  to  the  He- 
brews. The  sons  of  Joktan  dwelt  from  Sepher  an  Indian 
river  and  that  part  of  Asia  adjoining  it. 

In  most  respects  this  account  of  Josephus  may  be  relied 
upon  as  accurate,  xit  least  it  no  doubt  agreed  with 
the  authorities  and  traditions  then  in  existence  and  deem^ 
ed  reliable. 


240  ABRAHAM   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

ABKAHAM  AND  HIS  FAMILY. 

Contents  ;  —  Parentage  and  Relations ;  Removes  to  Haran  ;  Goes 
to  Canaan ;  Goes  down  to  Egypt  and  returns ;  Abrarn  and  Lot 
separate ;  Receives  a  Divine  Communication  ;  Battle  of  the 
Kings  ;  Another  Vision  ;  Hagar  given  to  Abram  ;  Another  Vis- 
ion ;  Another ;  Sodom  Destroyed  ;  Lot  and  his  Daughters  ;  So- 
journ in  Gerar;  Birth  of  Isaac;  Hagar  and  her  Son  Rejected; 
Covenant  with  Abimelech;  The  Offering  of  Isaac  ;  Nahor;  Death 
of  Sarah  ;  A  Wife  procured  for  Isaac  ;  Death  of  Abraham ;  Ish- 
mael  and  his  Family. 

SECTION  I.  —  Parentage  and  Relations. 

CHAP,  XI. 


27.  IT  Now  these  are  the  genera- 
tions of  Terah :  Terah  begat  Abram, 
Nahor,  and  Haran;  and  Haran  be- 
gat Lot. 

28.  And  Haran  died  before  hig 
father  Terah  in  the  land  of  his  na- 
tivity, in  Ur  of  the  Chaklees. 

29.  And  Abram  and  Nahor  took 


them  wives:  the  name  of  Abram's 
wife  was  Sarai;  and  the  name  of 
Nahor's  wife  ^Iilcah,  the  daughter 
of  Haran,  the  father  of  Milcah,  and 
the  father  of  Iscah. 

30.   But  Sarai  was  barren;  she 
had  no  child. 


448.  It  would  seem  from  several  circumstances,  here 
named,  that  Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  was  the  residence  of 
Terah  and  his  family,  for  a  long  period.  His  three  sons 
were  born  there,  and  were  there  married.  This  is  implied 
in  the  case  of  Haran  ;  and  is  expressed  with  reference  to 
the  others.  The  wife  of  Nahor  was  daughter  of  his  brother 
Haran.  The  same  Haran  was  father  of  Iscah.  The  opin- 
ion is  not  without  foundation  that  this  Iscah  and  Sarah 
are  the  same.  If  this  supposition  is  not  true,  then  we  have 
the  allusion  to  Iscah  without  any  necessity  ;  and  who 
Sarah  was,  of  which  we  should  expect  to  be  informed, 
we  are  not  told.  Besides,  if  Sarah  and  Iscah  are  the  same, 
then  Sarah  and  Milcah  were  sisters  :  and  both  were  sisters 
of  Lot ;  and  this  will  give  us  a  reason  that  might  not 
otherwise  be  so  manifest,  why  Abram  should  have  taken 
Lot  with  him,  and  regarded  him  with  so  much  interest; 
for  in  this  case,  Lot  was  not  only  a  nephew  of  the  patri- 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY.  241 

arch,  but  a  brother  of  Sarah ;  and  his  father,  being  dead, 
he  united  his  interests  with  those  of  his  sister  and  uncle. 
With  this  view  the  language  of  Abram  concerning  his 
wife  :  —  ''  She  is  the  daughter  of  my  father,  but  not  the 
daughter  of  my  mother,'^  xx.  12,  may  be  explained  bj 
supposing  that  grand-daughter  (as  the  word  daughter 
often  means)  was  had  in  view,  and  by  the  additional  sup- 
position that  Terah  had  two  wives,  one  of  whom  was  the 
mother  of  Abram,  and  the  other  of  Haran. 

SECTION  II.  —Removal  to  Haran. 
CHAP.  XI. 


31.  And  Terah  took  Abram  his 
son,  and  Lot  the  son  of  Haran  his 
son's  son,  and  Sarai  his  daughter- 
in-law,  his  son  Abram's  wife  ;  and 
they  went  forthwith  them  fromUr 
of  the  Chaldees,  to  go  into  the  land 


of  Canaan ;  and  they  came  into  Ha- 
ran and  dwelt  there. 

32,  And  the  days  of  Terah  were 
two  hundred  and  five  years :  and 
Terah  died  in  Haran. 


449.  Terah  being  the  head  of  the  family,  is  said  to  have 
taken  Abram  and  others,  and  gone  to  Haran,  though  it 
appears  from  another  passage,  that  Abram  had  instigated 
this  movement,  being  instructed  so  to  do  by  a  divine 
vision,     xii.  1. 

Haran  was  evidently  named  after  Haran,  the  brother 
of  Abram,  who  had  died  in  Chaldee.  It  was  not,  there- 
fore, so  called,  when  Terah  and  his  family  went  there, 
but  received  its  name  from  them,  in  honor  of  their  de- 
ceased friend.  Nothing  can  be  more  natural  than  this  cir- 
cumstance ;  and  there  is  a  multitude  of  such  and  sim- 
ilar ones,  that  tend  strongly  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the 
narrative. 

The  death  of  Terah  is  mentioned  here,  though  Abram's 
removal   to    Canaan,    and   many  other  events  afterwards 
recorded,  must  have  taken  place  before  his  decease. 
11 


242 


ABRAHAM    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


SECTION  III.  —  Abram  goes  to  Canaan. 


CHAP. 

1.  Now  the  Lord  had  said  unto  | 
Abram,  Get  thee  out  of  thj-  coun- 
try,  and   from   thy  kindred,   and 
from   thy   father's   house,  unto  a 
land  that  I  will  shew  thee: 

2.  And  I  will  make  of  thee  a 
great  nation,  and  I  will  bless  thee, 
and  make  thy  name  great;  and 
thou  Shalt  be  a  blessing: 

3.  And  I  will  bless  them  that 
bless  thee,  and  curse  him  that  curs- 
eth  thee:  and  in  thee  shall  all  fam- 
ilies of  the  earth  be  blessed. 

4.  So  Abram  departed,  as  the 
Lord  had  spoken  unto  him ;  and 
Lot  went  with  him :  and  xVbram  was 
seventy  and  five  years  old  when  he 
dep  irted  out  of  Haran. 

5.  And  xVbrara  took  Sarai  his 
wife,  and  Lot  his  brother's  son, 
and  all  their  substance  that  they 
had  gathered,  and  the  souls  that 


XII. 

they  had  gotten  in  Haran;  and 
they  went  forth  to  go  into  the  land 
of  Canaan;  and  into  the  land  of 
Canaan  they  came. 

6.  IT  And  Abram  passed  through 
the  land  unto  the  place  of  Sichem, 
unto  the  plain  of  Moreh.  And  the 
Canaauite  wis  then  in  the  land. 

7.  And  the  Lord  appeared  unto 
Abram,  and  said.  Unto  thy  seed 
will  I  give  this  land:  and  there 
builded  he  an  altar  unto  the  Lord, 
who  appeared  unto  him. 

8.  And  he  removed  from  thence 
unto  a  mountain  on  the  east  ol  Be. 
thel,  and  pitched  his  tent,  having 
Bethel  on  the  west,  nnd  Hai  on  the 
east:  and  there  he  builded  :in  altar 
unto  the  Lord,  and  called  upon 
the  name  of  the  Lord. 

9.  And  Abram  journeyed,  going 
on  still  toward  the  south. 


450.  The  message  from  God  to  Abram,  here  referred 
to,  was  given  to  him  while  he  was  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees. 
It  does  not  appear  that  Abram  knew  what  land  was  in- 
tended for  him,  till  he  came  into  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
received  another  and  more  definite  statement.  That  he 
should  be  greatly  blessed,  and  that  all  men  would 
be  blessed  through  him,  are  the  two  items  in  this 
announcement. 

451.  How  long  Abram  and  Lot  resided  in  Haran,  is 
not  stated.  "  The  substance  they  had  gathered,  and  the 
souls  they  had  gotten  in  Haran,"  may  be  understood  as 
impl^nng  a  considerable  period. 

452.  The  Canaanite  was  then  in  the  land.  Abram, 
therefore,  could  not  claim  the  country  by  right  of  dis- 
covery, nor  as  being  the  first  settler.  He  could  only 
claim  it  as  a  divine  'bestowment  ;  and  on  this  ground  it 
was  claimed,  and  taken  possession  of,  at  a  later  day. 

453.  That  Abram  journeyed  still  toward  the  south, 
shows  that  he  had  come  from  the  north,  (^r  more  prop- 
edy,  from  the  north-east.  Hence  we  must  place  Haran 
and  Ur  in  that  direction. 


ABRAHAM    AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


243 


SECTION  IV.  —  Abram  goes  down  to  Egypt. 


CHAP, 

10.  IT  And  there  was  a  famine  in 
the  land:  and  Abram  went  down  ' 
into  Egypt  to  sojourn  there;  for 
the    famine  was  grievous  in  the 
land. 

11.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
he  was  come  near  to  enter  into 
Egypt,  that  he  said  unto  Sarai  his 
wife,  Behold  now,  I  know  that 
thou  art  a  fair  woman  to  look 
upon: 

12.  Therefore  it  shall  come  to 
pass,  when  the  Egyptians  shall  see 
thee,  that  they  shall  say,  This  is 
his  wife;  and  they  will  kill  me,  but 
they  will  save  thee  alive. 

13.  Say,  I  pray  thee,  thou  ori 
my  sister ;  that  it  may  be  well  with 
me  for  thy  sike:  and  my  soul  shall 
live  bee  lusa  of  thee. 

14  *ir  And  it  came  to  pass,  that 
when  Abram  was  come  into  Egypt, 
the  Egyptians  beheld  the  woman 
that  she  ivas  very  fair. 

15.  The  princes  also  of  Pharaoh 


,   XII. 

saw  her,  and  commended  her  be- 
fore Pharaoh ;  and  the  woman  was 
taken  into  Pharaoh's  house. 

16.  And  he  entreated  Ahr.im  well 
for  her  sake:  and  he  had  sheep, 
and  oxen,  and  he-asses,  and  men- 
servants,  and  maid -servants,  and 
she  asses,  and  camels. 

17.  And  the  Lord  plagne<i  Pha- 
raoh and  his  house  with  great 
plagues,  because  of  Sarai,  Abram's 
wife. 

18  And  Pharaoh  called  Abram, 
and  said,  What  is  this  that  thou 
hast  done  unto  me?  why  didst  thou 
not  tell  me  that  she  was  thy  wife? 

19.  Why  saidst  thou.  She  is  my 
sister  ?  so  I  might  have  taken  her 
to  me  to  wife:  now,  therefore,  ))c- 
hold  thy  wife,  take  her,  and  go  thy 
way. 

20.  And  Pharaoh  commanded  /j is 
men  concerning  him:  and  they  sent 
him  away,  and  his  wife,  and  all 
that  he  had. 


CHAP.  XIIL 


1.  And  Abram  went  up  out  of 
Egypt,  he,  and  his  wife,  and  all 
that  he  had,  and  Lot  with  him, 
into  the  south. 

2.  And  Abram  was  very  rich  in 
cattle,  in  silver,  and  in  gold, 

3.  And  he  went  on  his  journeys 
from   the  south,   even  to   Bethel, 


unto  the  place  where  his  tent  had 
been  at  the  beginning,  between 
Bethel  and  Hai; 

4.  Unto  the  place  of  the  altar, 
which  he  had  made  there  at  the 
first:  and  there  Abram  called  on 
the  name  of  the  Lord. 


454.  That  there  was  a  famine  in  Canaan,  and  not  in 
Egypt,  is  easily  accounted  for;  the  one  was  watered  by 
the  clouds  that  descended  upon  the  land,  and  it  would 
suffer  immediately  if  they  were  withheld  :  the  other  was 
watered  by  the  overflowing  of  the  Nile,  and  was  not 
affected  by  slight  changes,  such  as  would  affect  other 
countries.  The  Nile  did  not  often  withhold  its  supplies, 
but  when  it  did,  the  effect  was  long  continued.  Hence 
the  seven  years  of  plenty,  followed  by  seven  of  famine, 
was  perfectly  in  accordance  with  natural  circumstances. 


244  ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 

Going  dow7i  to  Eg^^pt  is  a  reference,  slight  in  itself,  but 
well  fitted  to  strengthen  our  confidence  in  the  narrative, 
by  its  agreement  with  facts.  Egypt  was  lower  than 
Canaan  ;  and  therefore,  those  who  went  there  from  the 
latter  place,  went  down  ;  and  on  their  return  they  went 
nj)  out  of  Egypt. 

455.  The  deception  instigated  by  Abram  is  recorded 
as  a  historical  fact,  though  it  does  not  reflect  well  upon 
the  character  of  the  patriarch ;  and  it  shows  a  lack  of 
information  concerning  the  place  he  was  to  visit.  True, 
it  was  not  a  sin  of  the  first  magnitude,  nor  was  it  prompted 
by  unworthy  motives  ;  but  a  sin  it  was,  and  no  less  a  sin 
in  the  patriarch  than  it  would  have  been  in  any  other  man 
under  the  same  circumstances,  though  some  biblical 
expounders  have  conceived  the  necessity  of  exonerating 
him  from  all  blame,  which  they  would  not  feel  at  liberty 
to  do,  in  ordinary  cases.  One  thing  we  ought  not  to 
forget,  that,  if  our  sense  of  right  and  obligation  is  greater 
than  that  of  the  patriarchs,  it  is  mainly  because  we  have 
privileges  which  they  had  not.  And  indeed,  were 
we  to  find  them  as  conscientious,  as  are  well  instructed 
Christians  of  the  present  day,  one  of  two  conclusions 
would  follow  that  few  of  us  would  be  willing  to  accept, 
either  that  the  record  we  have  of  those  early  times  is 
false,  or  that  revealed  religion  has  be^n  of  no  use  to  the 
world. 

456.  The  ''plagues"  that  came  upon  Pharaoh  in  con- 
sequence of  Abram's  wife,  are  not  described,  and  may 
have  been  only  such  "troubles,"  as  would  naturally 
arise  from  the  circumstances,  though  not  the  less  brought 
upon  him  by  the  Lord,  on  that  account.  Abram  and  Lot 
went  up  from  Egypt  "into  the  south,"  that  is,  into  the 
south  part  of  Canaan  ;  though,  in  going  thither,  they  went 
north  or  north-east. 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY.  245 

SECTION  V.  —  Abram  and  Lot  Separate. 
CHAP.  xrii. 


5.  IT  And  Lot  also,  which  went 
with  Abram,  had  flocks,  and  herds, 
and  tents. 

6.  And  the  land  was  not  able  to 
bear  them,  that  they  might  dwell 
together:  for  their  substance  was 
great,  so  that  they  could  not  dwell 
together. 

7.  And  there  was  a  strife  between 
the  herdmen  of  Abram's  cattle  and 
the  herdmen  of  Lot's  cattle:  and 
the  Canaanite  and  the  Penzzite 
dwelled  then  in  the  land. 

8  And  Abram  said  unto  Lot, 
Let  there  be  no  strife ,  I  pray  thee, 
between  me  and  thee,  and  between 
my  herdmen  and  thy  herdmen ;  for 
we  be  brethren. 

9.  Is  not  the  whole  land  before 
thee  ?  separate  thyself,  I  pray  thee, 
from  me;  if  thou  wilt  take  the  left 
hand,  then  I  will  go  to  the  right; 


or  \i  thou  depart  to  the  right  hand, 
then  I  will  go  to  the  left.  " 

10.  And  Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
and  beheld  all  the  plain  of  Jordan, 
that  it  wan  well  watered  every 
where,  before  the  Lord  destroyed 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah, eren  as  the 
garden  of  the  Lord,  like  the  land 
of  Egypt,  as  thou  comest  unto 
Zoar. 

11.  Then  Lot  chose  him  all  the 
plain  of  Jordan ;  and  Lot  journey- 
ed east;  and  they  separated  them- 
selves  the  one  from  the  other. 

12.  Abram  dwelt  in  the  land  of 
Canaan,  and  Lot  dwelt  in  the  cities 
of  the  plain ,  and  pitched  his  tent 
toward  Sodom. 

13.  But  the  men  of  Sodom  u'cre 
wicked  and  sinners  before  the  Lord 
exceedingly. 


457.  This  passage  sets  forth  the  character  of  Abram 
to  great  advantage.  His  friendly  disposition  and  his  gen- 
erous treatment  of  Lot,  are  worthy  of  all  commendation. 
The  occupation  of  the  patriarchs  required  an  extensive 
territory,  especially  as  the  wealth  of  Abram  and  Lot,  con- 
sisting inostly  of  flocks  and  herds,  had  become  very  great 
at  the  time  here  referred  to.  That  diflerences  would 
arise  with  their  respective  herdsmen,  (for  though  Abram 
and  Lot  were  together,  they  seem  to  have  had  separate 
interests,)  was  a  very  natural  occurrence;  and  the  sug- 
gestion of  Abram  was  exceedingly  judicious  as  fitted  to 
prevent  such  occurrences. 

458.  The  remark  that  the  Canaanite  and  the  Perizzite 
were  then  in  the  land,  was  designed  to  give  an  additional 
reason  why  Abram  and  Lot  should  keep  on  good  terms, 
as  they  would  thus  be  better  prepared  to  defend  them- 
selves, if  occasion  should  require,  against  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land.  It  may  be  added  that  the  term  Canaanite 
generally  refers  to  all  the  people  of  Palestine,  in  which 
case  the  Perizzites  would  be  included  ;  but  here,  as  in 
some  other  instances,  it  refers  only  to  a  particular  tribe. 


246  ABRAHAM    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

459.  The  plain  of  the  Jordan  is  compared  to  Egypt  as 
to  its  fruitfulness  ;  and  its  situation  along  tlie  valley  of 
that  river,  and  watered  by  numerous  smaller  streams, 
coming  down  from  the  mountains,  and  bringing  the  rich- 
ness of  the  soil  with  them,  renders  the  comparison  very 
fit  and  proper. 

"As  thou  comest  unto  Zoar,"  in  verse  10th,  must  be 
understood  as  connected  with  "the  plain  of  Jordan''  in 
the  former  part  of  the  verse,  and  not  with  Egypt  in  the 
latter  part,  as  the  phrase  now  stands.  The  passage  should 
be  construed  thus  ;  —  "  And  Lot  lifted  up  his  eyes  and 
beheld  all  the  plain  of  the  Jordan,  as  thou  comest  unto 
Zoar,  that  it  was  well  watered  every  where  ....  like 
the  land  of  Egypt." 

SECTION  YL  — A  Divine  Communication. 

CHAP  XIII. 


14.  If  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
Abram,  after  that  Lot  was  separa- 
ted from  him,  Lift  up  now  thine 
eyes ,  and  look  from  the  place  where 
tUoa  art  northward,  and  south- 
ward, and  eastward,  and  westward : 

35.  For  all  the  land  which  thou 
seest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it,  and  to 
thy  seed  tor  ever. 

16.  And  I  will  make  thy  seed  as 
the  dust  of  the  earth:  so  that  if  a 
man  can  number  the   dust  of  the 


earth,  then  shall  thy  seed  also  be 
numbered. 

17.  Arise ,  walk  through  the  land 
in  the  length  of  it  and  in  the 
breadth  of  it ;  for  I  will  give  it  unto 
thee. 

18.  Then  Abram  removed  his 
tent,  and  came  and  dwelt  in  the 
plain  of  Mamre,  which  is  in  He- 
bron ,  and  built  there  an  altar  unto 
the  Lord. 


460.  This  communication,  given  to  Abram  at  this  time, 
seems  intended  to  assure  him,  not  merely  that  the  land  of 
Canaan  was  to  be  his,  but  to  be  his  exclusively  ;  and  that 
even  Lot  was  not  to  participate  in  the  possession. 

461.  Mamre  was  a  long  time  the  residence  of  this 
patriarch,  as  well  as  of  Isaac  and  Jacob  afterwards  ;  and 
though  all  of  them  had  temporary  residences  in  other 
places,  yet  the  associations  of  Hebron  often  brought  them 
back  to  that  endeared  spot.  Many  interesting  circum- 
stances connected  witli  Hebron  will  appear  in  the  progress 
of  patriarchal  biography. 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


247 


SECTION  VII. —  Battle  of  the  Kings. 
CHAP.  XIV. 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass,  in  the 
days  of  Amraphel  king  of  Sliinar, 
Ariooii  king  of  EUasar,  Cliedor- 
laoinei-,  king  of  Elam,  and  Tidal 
king  uf  nations; 

2.  That  these  made  war  with 
Bera  king  of  Sodom,  and  with 
Birsha  king  of  Gomorrah,  Shinab 
king  of  Admah,  and  Shemeber 
king  of  Zeboiim,  and  the  king  of 
Bela,  Avhich  is  Zoar. 

3.  All  these  were  joined  together 
in  the  vale  of  Siddim,  which  \s  the 
salt  sea. 

4.  Twelve  years  they  served  Che- 
dorlaomer,  and  in  the  thirteenth 
year  they  rebelled. 

5.  And  in  the  fourteenth  year 
came  Chedorlaomer,  and  the  kings 
that  M;ere.with  him,  and  smote  the 
Kepliaims  in  Ashteroth-Karnaim, 
and  the  Zuziras  in  Ham,  and  the 
Emims  in  Shaveh-Kiriathaim, 

().  And  the  Horites  in  their  mount 
Seir,  unto  Elparan,  which  is  by 
the  wilderness. 

7.  And  they  returned  and  came 
to  Enniishpat,  which  is  Kadesh, 
and  smote  all  the  country  of  the 
Amalekites,  and  also  the  Amorites 
that  dwelt  in  Hizezontamar. 

8.  And  there  Avent  out  the  king 
of  Sodom,  and  the  king  of  Gomor- 
rah, and  the  king  of  Admah,  and 
the  king  of  Zeboiim,  and  the  king 
of  Bel:i,  (the  same  is  Zoar;)  and 
they  joined  battle  with  them  in  the 
\ale  of  Sid  lim; 

9.  With  Chedorlaomer  the  king 
of  Elam,  and  with  Tidal  king  of 
nations,  and  Amraphel  king  of  Shi- 
nar,  and  Arioch  king  of  Ellasar; 
four  kings  with  five. 

10.  And  the  vale  of  Siddim  loas 
full  a/ slime-pits ;  and  the  kings  of 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  fled,  and  fell 
there ;  and  they  that  remained  fled 
to  the  mountain. 

11.  And  they  took  all  the  goods 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  all 
their  victuals,  and  went  their  way. 


12.  And  they  took  Lot,  Abram's 
brother's  son,  who  dwelt  in  Sodom, 
and  his  goods,  and  dei^arted. 

13.  IT  And  there  came  one  that 
had  escaped,  and  told  Abram  the 
Hebrew ;  for  he  dwelt  in  the  plain 
of  Mamre  the  Amorite,  brother  of 
Eschol,  and  brother  of  Aner:  and 
these  were  confederate  with  Abram. 

14.  And  when  Abram  heard  that 
his  brother  Avas  taken  cai)tive,  he 
armed  his  tv-Mv^Qd servants,  born  in 
his  own  house,  three  hundred  and 
eighteen,  and  pui'sued  them  unto 
Dan. 

15.  And  he  divided  himself  a- 
gainst  them,  he  and  his  servants, 
by  night,  and  smote  them,  and 
pursued  them  unto  Hobah,  Avhich 
is  on  the  left  hand  of  Damascus. 

16.  And  he  brought  back  all  t!ic 
goods,  and  also  brought  again  his 
brother  Lot,  and  his  goods,  and  the 
women  also,  and  the  people. 

17.  IT  And  the  king  of  Sodom 
went  out  to  meet  him  faftcr  his  re- 
turn from  the  slaughter  of  Che- 
dorlaomer, and  of  the  kings  that 
were  with  him,)  at  the  valley  of 
Shaveh,  which  is  the  king's  dale. 

18.  And  Melchizedek  king  of  Sa- 
lem brought  forth  bread  and  wine: 
and  he  loas  the  priest  of  the  most 
high  God. 

19.  And  he  blessed  him,  and  said. 
Blessed  be  Abram  of  the  most  high 
God,  possessor  of  heaven  and  eii'th: 

20.  And  blessed  be  the  most  high 
God,  which  hath  delivered  thine 
enemies  into  thy  hand.  And  he 
gave  him  tithes  of  all. 

21.  And  the  king  of  Sodom  said 
unto  Abram,  Give  mo  the  persons, 
and  take  the  goods  to  thyself. 

22.  And  Abram  said  to  the  king 
of  Sodom,  Ihave  lifted  up  my  hand 
unto  the  Lord,  the  most  high  God, 
the  possessor  of  heaven  and  earth, 

23.  That  I  will  not  take  fi-om  a 
thread  even  to  a  shoe-latchet,  and 
that  I  will  not  take  anything  that 


:-L8 


ABRAHAM    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


is  thine  lest  thou  shouldest  say,  I 
have  made  Abram  rich: 

24.  Save    only  that  which    the 
young   men  have  eaten,  and  the 


portion  of  the  men  which  went 
with  me,  Aner,  Eschol,  and  Mam- 
re;  let  them  take  their  portion. 


462  It  will  be  remembered  that  Shinar  was  the  coun- 
try in  which  men  attempted  to  build  the  tower  of  Babel ; 
and  as  Amraphael,  king  of  Shinar,  is  the  first  mentioned 
on  the  list  of  kings,  it  is  quite  probable  that  he  was  the 
most  important  personage  among  them,  though  the  war 
was  excited  by  Cherdorlaomer,  king  of  Elam,  to  whom 
the  southern  tribes  had  been  subject,  and  from  whom 
they  had  recently  revolted.  The  other  places,  mentioned 
in  connection  with  Shinar,  were  probably  located  in  the 
same  region  of  country  which  was  north  or  north-east  of 
Canaan.  Tidal  is  called  king  of  nations,  for  the  reason 
perhaps  that  he  ruled  over  several  cities  or  tribes.  Per- 
haps, however,  the  word  for  "  nations  ''  should  be  ren- 
dered as  a  proper  name,  in  which  case,  Tidal  would  be 
called  simply  king  of  "  Goyim,''  which  may  be  the  name 
of  only  one  city  or  country.  The  king  of  Bela  is  not 
named,  either  because  Bela  or  Zoar  was  a  very  small 
city,  or  for  some  other  reason  not  apparent. 

463.  The  confederate  kings  appear  to  have  laid  waste 
the  country  on  their  way  towards  Canaan,  and  indeed 
they  must  have  gone  past  their  former  allies,  whose  sub- 
jection thej^had  mainly  in  view  ;  for  they  visited  Elparan, 
which  was  far  beyond  them  in  the  direction  of  Egypt. 
They  then  turned  back  and  subdued  Enmishpat  or  Ka- 
desh,  and  smote  the  whole  country  of  the  Amalckites 
and  Amorites. 

It  was  at  this  juncture  that  the  kings  of  Sodom,  Go- 
morrah, Admah,  Zeboim  and  Zoar,  went  out  to  meet 
them,  and  joined  battle  with  them  in  the  vale  of  Siddim, 
not  far  from  Sodom.  The  result  was  that  they  were 
signally  defeated.  Lot  and  his  family  were  made  cap- 
tives; and  it  was  in  view  of  this  circumstance,  and  the 
part  that  Abram  had  in  rescuing  his  friend,  that  the 
narrative  is  given  us. 

464.  Mamre  was  one  of  Abram's  confederates  ■  and 
it  was  evidently  after  him  tbat  Abram's  residence  was 
named.     He  was  an   Amorite,  and  as  that  tribe  had  suf- 


ABRAHAM  AND  HIS    FAMILY.  249 

fercd  from  the  northern  kings,  this  was  a  good  and 
sufficient  reason,  as  well  as  being  a  confederate  with 
Abram,  for  joining  in  the  pursuit.  Abram  pursued  them 
unto  Dan,  a  place  in  the  north  of  Palestine  as  Beersheba 
was  in  the  south  ;  hence  the  common  saying,  "  from  Dan 
to  Beersheba. '^  He  then  pursued  them  unto  Ilobah  on 
the  left  hand  of  Damascus.  These  places  of  course 
were  in  the  direction  of  Shinar,  whither  the  kings  were 
returning. 

465.  On  the  return  of  Abram,  having  recovered  Lot 
and  his  family,  he  was  met  by  Melchizedek,  king  of 
Salem,  to  whom  Abram  paid  the  tenth  part  of  the  spoils. 
If  this  Salem  is  the  same  as  Jerusalem,  as  there  is  some 
reason  to  believe,  the  existence  of  a  priesthood  here, 
and  the  payment  of  tithes,  become  interesting  circum- 
stances, as  foreshadowing  the  Jewish  priesthood  in  the 
same  place.  Who  this  Melchizedek  was,  we  are  not  in- 
formed. That  he  was  priest  of  the  Most  High,  and  wor- 
shipped God  according  to  the  principles  of  true  religion, 
there  can  be  no  doubt,  both  from  the  respect  shown  him 
by  the  patriarch,  and  from  other  references.    See  Heb.  vii. 

466.  The  interview  which  the  king  of  Sodom  had 
with  Abram,  is  interesting,  as  showing  the  justice  of  the 
one,  and  the  generosity  of  the  other.  The  conduct  of 
the  king  shows  that  he  was  not  wholly  depraved,  though 
he  was  the  ruler  of  a  very  corrupt  and  wicked  people. 
The  proposition  of  Abram  to  give  his  confederates  their 
share  of  the  spoils,  shows  that  there  was  some  estab- 
lished rule  for  dividing  the  booty  in  such  cases  :  but 
whether  such  division  was  equal  to  each  person,  or  other- 
wise, we  do  not  learn  from  this  narrative. 

For  local  references,  see  Geography,  pp.  103-118. 
11* 


250  ARRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 

SECTION  YIII.  —Another  Vision. 


CHAP.  XV. 


1.  After  these  things  the  word  of 
the  Lord  came  unto  Abram  in  a 
vision,  saying,  Fear  not,  Abram:  I 
am  thyshieLl,  and  thy  exceeding 
great  reward. 

•2.  And  Abram  said.  Lord  God, 
■what  wilt  tliou  give  me,  seeing  I  go 
childless,  and  the  steward  of  my 
house  ts  this  Eliezer  of  Damascus? 

3.  And  Abram  siid,  Behold,  to 
me  thou  hast  given  no  seed:  and 
lo,  one  born  in  my  house  is  mine 
heir. 

4.  IT  And  behold,  the  word  of  the 
Lord  came  unto  him,  saying,  This 
shall  not  be  thine  heir;  but  he  that 
shall  come  forth  out  of  thine  own 
bowels  shall  be  thine  heir. 

5.  And  he   brought  him    forth 
abroad,  and  said,  Look  now  toward 
heaven,  and  tell  the  stars,  if  thou 
be  able  to  number  them  :   and  he  , 
sai<l  unto  hm.  So  shall  thy  seed  ' 
bo. 

G.  And  he  believed  in  the  Lord; 
and  he  counted  it  to  him  for  right- 
eousness. 

7.  And  he  said  unto  him,  I  am 
the  Lord  that  brought  thee  out  of 
Ur  of  the  Chaldees,  to  give  thee 
this  land  to  inherit  it. 

8.  And  he  said  Lord  God  ,  v.diere- 
by  shall  I  know  that  I  shall  inherit 
it. 

9.  And  he  said  unto  him,  Take  me 
aWifer  of  three  years  old,  and  a 
she-go.it  of  three  years  old,  and  a 
ram  of  three  years  ol  1,  and  a  turtle 
dove,  and  a  yoano:  piiroon. 

10.  And  he  took  unto  him  all 
these,  an  i  divided  them  in  the 
midst,  and  laid  each  piece  one 
against  another:  but  tho  birds  di- 
vided he  not. 


11.  And  when  the  fowls  came 
down  ujjon  the  carcases,  Abram 
drove  them  away. 

12.  And  when  the  sun  was  going 
down,  a  deep  sleep  fell  upon  Abram : 
and,  lo,  a  horror  of  great  dai'kness 
fell  upon  him. 

13.  And  he  said  unto  Abram, 
Know  of  a  surety  that  thy  seed 
shall  be  a  stranger  in  a  land  that  is 
not  theirs,  and  shall  serve  them; 
and  they  shall  afflict  them  four 
hundred  years; 

14.  And  also  that  nation,  whom 
they  shall  serve,  will  I  judge:  and 
afterward  shall  they  come  out  with 
great  substance. 

15.  And  thou  shalt  go  to  thy 
fathers  in  peace ;  thou  shalt  be  buri- 
ed in  a  good  old  age. 

16.  But  in  the  fourth  generation 
they  shall  come  hither  again  :  for 
the  iniquity  of  the  Amoritcs  is  not 
yet  full. 

17.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that, 
when  the  sun  went  down,  and  it 
was  dark,  behold  a  smoking  fur- 
nace, and  a  burning  lamp  that 
passed  between  those  pieces. 

18.  In  that  same  day  the  Lord 
made  a  covenant  with  Abram,  say- 
ing. Unto  thy  seed  have  I  given 
thTs  laud  from  the  river  of  Egypt 
unto  the  great  river,  the  river  Eu- 
phrates : 

19.  The  Kenites,  and  the  Keniz- 
zites,  and  the  Kadmonitcs, 

20.  And  thollittites,  and  the  Pe- 
rizzites,  aud  the  Rephaims, 

21  And  the  Amorites,  and  the 
Canaanites,  and  the  Girgasites, 
and  the  Jebusites. 


467.  This  communication  is  called  a  vision  :  but  where 
tlic  vision  ends  —whether  it  embraces  the  whole  of  the 
});issage,  or  only  a  part  of  it  —  seems  to  be  a  matter  of 
sonic  uncertainty.     We  suppose  the  whole  passage  to  be 


ABRAHAM   AND  HIS    FAMILY.  251 

included  ;  and  that  going  forth  abroad  to  count  the  stars, 
was  as  much  a  part  of  the  vision,  as  what  precedes  this. 
So  was  the  sacrifice,  where  the  animals  were  slain  and 
parted.  So  was  the  deep  sleep  or  trance  that  fell  upon 
the  patriarch.  So  was  the  smoking  furnace  and  burning 
lamp. 

It  is  added  ;  —  "  In  that  same  day  the  Lord  made  a 
covenant  with  Abram,  saying,  unto  thy  seed  have  1  given 
this  land,"  &c. 

The  vision  shows  the  occasion  of  this  covenant,  and 
the  ceremonies  by  which  it  was  ratified,  and  as  such  it  is 
beautiful  and  instructive  ;  while  to  regard  the  greater 
part  of  this  as  real,  is  to  make  it  inconsistent  and  absurd. 

468.  The  reference  of  Abram  to  being  childless,  need 
not  be  regarded  as  murmuring  at  his  lot.  It  simply 
suggests  a  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  divine  promise. 
He  had  twice  before  been  told  that  his  seed  should 
become  very  numerous.  What  more  natural  than  his 
reference  to  his  childless  condition,  in  view  of  these 
promises  ?     Hence  the  promise  of  a  son  is  here  given. 

469.  The  sacrifice  here  described  is  expressly  said  to 
have  been  prepared  for  the  confirmation  of  the  divine 
promise,  that  Abram  should  inherit  the  land  of  Canaan. 
The  animals  are  such  as  were  used  in  sacrifices  and  ofier- 
ings  afterwards,  according  to  the  law  of  Moses. 

470.  The  deep  sleep  and  horror  of  great  darkness  that 
fell  upon  Abram,  was  a  fit  condition  for  the  announcement 
that  followed.  The  nation  that  Abram 's  seed  were  to 
serve,  and  by  whom  the}^  would  be  oppressed,  is  not 
named  ;  but  no  one  can  doubt,  in  view  of  subsequent 
history,  that  the  allusion  is  to  Egypt. 

471.  The  statement  that  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites 
is  not  yet  full,  in  this  connection,  shows  clearly,  that 
though  the  seed  of  Abram  were  to  inherit  Canaan,  accord- 
ing to  the  divine  promise,  the  sin  of  the  Canaanites  would 
be  the  reason  of  their  destruction. 

472.  The  river  of  Egypt,  used  to  define  the  limits  of 
Canaan,  may  have  been  the  Nile,  which  was  emphatically 
the  river  of  Egypt,  in  which  case  a  near  approach  to  that 
river,  though  not  actually  reaching  it,  may  be  all  that  is 


252 


ABRAHAM    AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


intended  ;  or  some  other  stream  may  be  had  in  view  that 
separated  the  two  countries.  The  Euphrates  is  a  well 
known  river,  l^^ing  east  of  Palestine,  and  is  in  this  pas- 
sage made  the  boundary  of  Abram's  possessions  in  that 
direction,  as  the  river  of  Egypt,  in  the  other. 

473.  The  several  tribes  here  named  were  the  people  of 
Canaan.  All  together  they  are  called  Canaanites,  though 
that  term  ig  sometimes  applied  to  a  particular  tribe.  So 
the  Amorites,  being  a  large  and  powerful  tribe,  are  some- 
times, as  in  verse  16th,  put  for  the  whole  people  of 
Canaan. 

SECTION  IX.  — Hagar  given  to  Abram. 


CHAP.  XVI. 


1.  Now  Sarai  Abram 's  wife  bare 
him  no  children:  and  she  had  an 
handmaid,  an  Egyptian,  whose 
name  was  Hagar. 

2.  And  Sarai  said  unto  Abram, 
Behold  now,  the  Lord  hath  re- 
strained me  from  bearing:  I  pray 
thee,  go  in  unto  my  maid;  it  may 
be  that  I  may  obtain  children  by 
her.  And  Abram  hearkened  to  the 
voice  of  Sarai. 

3.  And  Sarai  Abram 's  wife  took 
Hagar  her  maid,  the  Egyptian,  af- 
ter Abram  had  dwelt  ten  years  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  gave  her 
to  her  husband  Abram  to  be  his 
wife. 

4.  And  he  went  in  unto  Hagar, 
and  she  conceived  :  and  when  she 
saw  she  liad  conceived,  her  mistress 
was  despised  in  her  eyes. 

5.  And  Sarai  said  unto  Abram, 
My  wrong  be  upon  thee  :  I  have 
given  my  maid  into  thy  bosom ;  and 
Avhen  she  saw  that  she  had  conceiv- 
ed, I  was  despised  in  her  eyes  :  the 
Lord  judge  betAveen  me  and  thee. 

6.  But  Abram  said  unto  Sarai. 
Behold,  thy  maid  is  in  thy  hand; 
do  to  her  as  it  pleaseth  thee.  And 
when  Sarai  dealt  hardly  with  her, 
she  fled  from  her  f;ice. 

7.  IT  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
found  her  by  a  fountain  of  water  in 


the  wilderness,  by  the  fountain  in 
the  way  to  fehur. 

8.  And  he  said,  Hagar,  Sarai's 
maid,  whence  camest  thou  ?  and 
whither  wilt  thou  go  ?  And  she 
said,  I  flee  from  the  face  of  my  mis- 
tress Sarai. 

9.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
said  unto  her,  Return  to  thy  mis- 
tress, and  submit  thyself  under  her 
hands. 

10.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
said  unto  her,  I  will  multiply  thy 
seed  exceedingly,  that  it  shall  not 
be  numbered  for  multitude. 

11.  And  the  angel  (  f  the  Lord 
said  unto  her,  Behold,  thou  art 
with  child,  and  shalt  bear  a  son, 
and  shalt  call  his  name  Ishmael; 
because  the  Lord  hath  heard  thy 
affliction. 

12.  And  he  will  be  a  wild  man  ; 
his  hand  will  be  against  every  man, 
and  every  man's  hand  against  him; 
and  he  shall  dwell  in  the  presence 
of  all  his  brethren. 

13.  And  she  called  the  naBie  of 
the  Lord  that  spake  unto  her.  Thou 
God  seest  me:  for  she  said,  Havel 
also  here  looked  after  him  that 
seeth  me? 

14.  Wherefore  the  well  was  called 
Beer-lahairoi ;  behold,  it  is  between 
Kadesh  and  Bered. 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


253 


15  IT  And  Hagar  bare  Abrara  a 
son  :  and  Abram  called  his  son's 
name,  which  Hagar  bare,  Ishmael. 


16.  And  Abram  was  fourscore 
and  six  years  old,  when  Hagar  bare 
Ishmael  to  Abram. 


474.  Hagar  was  an  Egyptian  ;  and  it  will  be  remem- 
bered that  handmaids  were  among  the  gifts  Abram  re- 
ceived from  the  king  of  Egypt,  when  he  visited  that 
country. 

475.  No  one  can  read  the  patriarchal  narrative,  without 
noticing  that  the  desire  for  olispring  was  one  of  the  strong- 
est passions  of  those  days.  But,  as  was  very  natural,  it 
is  with  those  to  whom  that  favor  was  denied,  that  we  find 
the  expression  of  that  desire,  most  emphatic. 

476.  When  Hagar  left  her  mistress,  and  was  found  in 
the  wilderness,  she  appears  to  have  been  on  her  way  to 
Egypt.  It  is  quite  natural  that,  being  an  Egyptian,  she 
should  proceed  toward  that  country.  She  was  found  by 
a  fountain  of  water  in  thG  wilderness.  It  will  be  remem- 
bered that,  at  a  subsequent  time,  she  and  her  son  came 
near  perishing  for  the  want  of  such  an  accommodation. 
It  was  not  safe  to  leave  one  fountain,  in  the  hope  of  find- 
ing another,  unless  the  traveller  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  route,  which  Hagar  could  not  be  expected  to  be,  as 
she  had  probably  never  passed  along  that  route  but  once 
before,  viz.,  when  she  first  came  with  Abram  from  Egypt. 

What  is  said  of  the  angel  of  the  Lord,  in  this  passage, 
will  be  best  understood  by  consulting  our  criticism  on  that 
word  ;  also  our  remarks  upon  the  mode  of  divine  commu- 
nications in  those  days.     pp.  67-70.  30,  31. 

477.  It  is  generally  understood  that  the  Arabs  are  the 
descendants  of  Ishmael  ;  and  they  clearly  exemplify  the 
character  here  ascribed  to  their  illustrious  progenitor. 
They  exist,  too,  as  a  distinct  race,  "  in  the  presence  of 
all  their  brethren,'^  notwithstanding  the  efforts  made  to 
exterminate  them. 


254 


ABRAHAM  AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


SECTION  X.  —  Abram   has   another   Vision.  —  Circum- 
cision Instituted. 


CHAP.   XVII. 


1.  And  -when  Abram  was  ninety 
years  old  and  nine,  the  Lord  ap- 
peared to  Abram,  and  said  unto 
him,  I  am  the  Almighty  God;  walk 
before  me,  and  be  thou  perfect. 

2.  And  I  will  make  my  covenant 
between  me  and  thee,  and  will 
multiply  thee  exceedingly. 

3.  And  Abram  fell  on  his  face ; 
and  God  talked  Avith  him,  saying, 

4.  As  for  me,  behold,  my  cov- 
enant is  with  thee,  and  thou  shalt 
be  a  father  of  many  nations. 

5.  Neither  shall  thy  name  any 
more  be  called   Abram,   but  thy 
name  shall  be  Abraham;  for  a  fa- 
ther of  many  nations  hate  I  made  ! 
thee. 

6.  And  I  will  make  thee  exceed- 
ing fruitful,  and  I  will  make  na- 
tions of  thee,  and  kmgs  shall  come 
out  of  thee. 

7.  And  I  will  establish  my  cov- 
enant between  me  and  thee  and  thy 
seed  after  thee  in  their  generations 
for  an  everlasting  covenant,  to  be 
a  God  unto  thee,  and  to  thy  seed 
after  thee, 

8  And  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and 
to  thy  seed  after  thee,  the  land 
wherem  thou  art  a  stranger,  all 
the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an  ever- 
lasting possession;  and  I  will  be 
their  God. 

9.  IT  And  God  said  unto  Abra- 
ham, Thou  shalt  keep  my  covenant 
therefore,  thou,  and  thy  seed  after 
thee  in  their  generations. 

10.  This  is  my  covenant,  which 
ye  shall  keep,  between  me  and  you 
and  thy  seed  after  thee;  Every 
man  child  among  you  shall  be  cir- 
cumcised. 

11.  And  ye  shall  circumcise  the 
flesh  of  your  foreskin ;  and  it  shall 
be  a  token  of  the  covenant  betwixt 
me  and  you. 

12.  And  he  that  is  eight  days  old 
shall  be  circumcised  among  you, 


every  man-child  in  your  genera- 
tions, he  that  is  born  in  the  house, 
or  bought  with  money  of  any 
stranger,  which  is  not  of  thy  seed. 

13.  He  that  is  born  in  thy  house, 
and  he  that  is  bought  with  thy  mo- 
ney, must  needs  be  circumcised: 
and  my  covenant  shall  be  in  your 
flesh  for  an  everlasting  covenant. 

14.  And  the  uucii'cumcised  man- 
child  whose  flesh  of  his  foreskin  is 
not  circumcised,  that  soul  shall  be 
cut  ofl'  from  his  people ;  he  hath 
broken  my  covenant. 

15.  IT  And  God  said  unto  Abra- 
ham, As  for  Sarai  thy  wife,  thou 
shalt  not  call  her  name  Sarai,  but 
Sarah  shall  her  name  be. 

16.  And  I  will  bless  her,  and 
give  thee  a  son  also  of  her:  yea,  I 
will  bless  her,  and  she  shall  be  a 
mother  of  nations;  kings  of  i^eople 
shall  be  of  her. 

17.  Then  Abraham  fell  upon  his 
face,  and  laughed,  and  said  in  his 
heart,  Shall  a  child  be  born  unto 
him  that  is  a  hundred  years  old  ? 
and  shall  Sarah,  that  is  ninety 
years  old, bear? 

18.  And  Abraham  said  unto  God, 

0  that  Ishmael  might  live  before 
thee! 

19.  And  God  said,  Sarah  thy 
wife  shall  bear  thee  a  son  indeed: 
and  thou  shalt  call  his  name  Isaac ; 
and  I  will  establish  my  covenant 
with  him  for  an  everlasting  cov- 
enant, and  with  his  seed  after 
him. 

20.  And  as  for  Ishmael,  I  have 
heard  thee:  Behold,  I  have  blessed 
him,  and  will  make  him  fruitful, 
and  will  multiply  him  exceedingly; 
twelve  i)rinces  shall  he  beget,  and 

1  will  make  him  a  great  nation. 

21.  But  my  covenant  will  I  es- 
tablish with  Isaac,  which  Sarah 
shall  bear  unto  thee  at  this  set 
time  in  the  next  year. 


ABRAHAM   AND     HIS     FAMILY.  255 


22.  And  he  left  off  talking  with 
him,  and  God  went  up  from  Abra- 
ham. 

23.  IT  And  Abraham  took  Ish- 
mael  his  son,  and  all  that  were 
born   in   his  house,   and  all  that 


circumcised  in  the  flesh  of  his  fore- 
skin. 

25.  And  Ishmael  his  son  was 
thirteen  years  old,  when  he  was 
circumcised  in  the  flesh  of  his  fore- 
skin. 


were  bought  with  his  money,  every  |      26.  In    the    self-same    day  'was 

Abraham    circumcised ,    and   Ish- 


house:  and  circumcised  the  flesh  of 
their  foreskin  in  the  self-same  day, 
as  God  had  said  unto  him. 

24.  And   Abraham    was    ninety 
years  old  and  nine,  when  he  was 


mael  his  son. 

27.  And  all  the  men  of  his  house 
born  in  the  house,  and  bought  with 
money  of  the  stranger,  were  cir- 
cumsised  with  him. 


478.  This  communication  is  not  said  to  have  been 
given  in  a  vision  ;  but  its  resemblance  to  the  vision  de- 
scribed in  chapter  loth,  must  remove  all  doubt,  as  to 
the  question,  whether  the  same  mode  was  adopted  in 
both  cases. 

479.  The  promise  of  a  numerous  seed  is  here  repeated, 
and  a  change  is  made  in  the  name  of  the  patriarch,  to 
make  it  correspond  more  exactly  with  the  nature  of  the 
promise.  It  should  be  observed,  however,  that  the 
change  was  not  wholly  to  bring  about  this  conformity. 
Any  change,  made  in  view  of  the  promise,  would  have 
accomplished  the  same  purpose,  which  obviously  was,  to 
remind  him,  every  time  his  name  was  mentioned,  of  the 
divine  assurance  of  his  prosperity.  This  idea  will  obvi- 
ate a  difficulty  connected  with  the  change  in  the  name  of 
Abraham's  wife  ;  for  no  reason,  aside  from  the  one  here 
suggested,  can  be  assigned  for  the  change.  The  one 
name  does  not  connect  itself  with  the  divine  promise, 
more  than  the  other  ;  though  many  conjectures  have  been 
resorted  to,  to  make  this  out.  Either  name,  being  chosen 
expressly  with  that  intention,  would  serve  as  a  constant 
memorial  of  the  promised  blessing,  The  principle  here 
involved,  shows  itself  very  frequently  in  th{;se  early 
times,  and  was  a  matter  of  necessity,  while  the  art  of 
writing  was  unknown,  or  was  not  generally  prevalent. 

480.  The  memory  of  important  contracts,  or  other 
events,  was  thus  often  refreshed  by  outward  memorials. 
And  I  may  add,  that  the  more  important  the  thing  to  be 
remembered,  the  more  intimate  and  constant  the  memo- 
rial selected.     There  is  nothing,  for  example,  that  would 


256  ABRAHAM   AJsD    IllS    FAMILY. 

more  constantly  remind  Abraham  of  God's  promise  than 
his  name.  The  promise  was  important,  and  tlie  memo- 
rial would  freqiKMitly  bring  it  to  mind.  The  same  remark 
will  apply  to  the  name  of  Sarah.  The  bow  in  the  clouds, 
that  was  to  assure  Noah,  and  succeeding  generations, 
that  there  should  no  more  be  a  flood  of  waters,  has  the 
same  purpose  ;  and  the  memento  is  as  lasting  as  the 
promise.  The  gift  (.f  sheep  and  oxen  by  Abraham  to 
Abimelech,  when  a  covenant  was  entered  into  between 
them,  had  the  same  purpose  in  view  ;  and  though  the 
memorial  would  not  very  long  continue,  yet  its  continu- 
ance, and  the  remembrance  of  it,  would  be  as  lasting  as 
would  be  required.  And  the  seven  ewe  lambs,  given  to 
Abimelech  on  the  same  occasion,  were  specially  intended 
as  proof  that  a  certain  w^ell  belonged  to  Abraham,  about 
which  some  misunderstanding,  now  settled,  had  existed. 
So  the  stone  set  up  for  a  pillar  by  Jacob,  between  his 
country  and  that  of  Laban,  was  not  to  be  passed,  by 
either  party,  with  hostile  intention  ;  and  surely  nothing 
could  have  answered  the  purpose  better.  So,  too,  the 
names  given  to  places,  in  view  of  important  circum- 
stances that  occurred  there,  of  which  many  instances 
may  be  found  in  this  book. 

481.  The  rite  of  circumcision  was  established  on  the 
same  principle  with  the  one  just  illustrated,  and  w^as  cho- 
sen in  view  of  the  purpose  to  be  accomplished.  First, 
it  was  to  remind  the  Hebrew  of  the  divine  promise  of  a 
numerous  posterity.  Second,  it  was  to  be  early  performed, 
as  showing  the  necessity  of  teaching  the  divine  covenant 
to  their  children.  Third,  the  memorial  would  last  as  long 
as  life,  so  should  the  remembrance  of  the  divine  promise. 
Fourth,  it  was  to  be  repeated  throughout  their  genera- 
tions, and  thus  be  co-extensive  with  the  continuance  of 
their  covenant  relation  to  Jehovah.  Fifth,  the  servant 
and  stranger,  who  would  have  the  benefits  of  the  covenant, 
must  also  be  subject  to  the  same  rite. 

482.  The  covenant,  here  alluded  to,  comprehended 
several  particulars.  First,  that  Abraham  should  be  the 
father  of  many  nations.  Sarah,  too,  was  to  be  the  mother 
of  nations.  Second,  it  is  said  to  Abraham,  kings  shall 
come  out  of  thee,  and  of  Sarah,  kings  of  people  shall  b« 


ABRAHAM    AND    HIS    FAMILY.  257 

of  her.  Third,  God  would,  in  a  special  manner,  be  a  God 
to  Abraham  and  his  seed  after  him.  Fourth,  the  land  of 
Canaan  was  to  be  an  everlasting  possession  to  him  and 
his  seed. 

The  soul  uncircumcised  was  to  be  cut  oiFfrom  his  peo- 
ple—  he  was  to  be  shut  out  from  the  blessings  and  privi- 
leges of  the  covenant  he  refused  to  recognize.  Some 
think  that  being  put  to  death  was  here  had  in  view  but 
without  sufficient  reason. 

483.  Abraham  laughed  when  told  that  he  should  have 
a  son  ;  and  it  was  in  view  of  this  circumstance,  that  the 
name  of  the  son  was  Isaac,  which  in  the  Hebrew,  mean^ 
to  laugh.  That  the  patriarch  laughed  in  the  face  of  a 
personal  Jehovah,  whom  he  saw  with  his  natural  eyes, 
and  with  whom  he  conversed,  as  one  man  converses  with 
another,  is  quite  unlikely,  not  to  say  absurd  or  blasphe- 
mous ;  though,  that  such  a  thing  occurred  in  a  vision,  and 
only  seemed  to  be,  is  a  very  reasonable  supposition  ;  and 
surely  the  object  had  in  view,  could  as  well  be  accom- 
plislied  in  this  way,  as  the  other. 

484.  Ishmael  too,  son  of  Hagar,  was  to  be  blessed,  as 
well  as  Isaac,  in  answer  to  the  prayer  of  the  patriarch, 
lie  was  to  be  the  father  of  twelve  princes.  These  are 
named  in  xxv.  13-15.  But  the  covenant,  before  alluded 
to,  was  to  be  with  Isaac  ;  and  the  rite  of  circumcision 
was  to  be  confined  to  that  branch  of  the  family  of  Abram, 
after  they  became  separate. 

485.  The  Lord  left  off  talking  with  Abraham  and  went 
up  from  him.  That  this  was  a  mere  appearance,  may  be 
learned,  from  verse  1st,  where  it  is  said  that  the  Lord  ap- 
peared to  Abraham .  The  language  answers  to  the  descrip- 
tion of  a  vision,  and  can  be  rationally  understood  in  no 
other  way.  The  assurance  the  patriarch  felt  that  the 
vision  was  divine,  and  that  its  instructions  were  to  be 
complied  with,  induced  him  to  comply  immediately  with 
its  requisitions. 


268 


ABRAHAM    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


SECTION  XI.  — Another  Vision. 


CHAP.  XVIII. 


I.  Aud  the  Lord  appeared  unto 
him  in  the  phiins  of  Mamie :  and  he 
sat  in  the  tent  dooi'  in  the  heat  of 
the  day ; 

*2.  xVnd  he  lifted  up  his  eyes  and 
looked,  and  lo,  three  men  stood  by 
him :  and  when  he  saw  them ,  he  ran 
to  meet  them  from  the  tent  doi)r, 
and  bowed  himself  toward  the 
ground, 

3.  And  said,  My  Lord,  if  now  I 
have  found  favor  in  thy  sight,  pass 
not  away,  I  pray  thee,  from  thy 
servant: 

4.  Let  a  little  water,  I  pray  you, 
be  fetched,  and  wash  your  feet,  and 
rest  yourselves  under  the  tree. 

5.  And  I  will  fetch  a  morsel  of 
bread,  and  comfort  ye  your  hearts; 
after  that  ye  shall  pass  on:  for 
therefore  are  ye  come  to  your  ser- 
vant. And  they  said.  So  do,  as 
thou  hast  said. 

6.  And  Abraham  hastened  into 
the  tent  unto  Sarah,  and  said, 
Make  i-eady  quickly  three  measures 
of  fine  meal,  knead  it,  and  make 
cakes  upon  the  hearth. 

7.  And  Abraham  ran  unto  the 
herd,  and  fetclied  a  calf  tender  and 
good;  and  gave  it  to  a  young  man; 
and  he  hastened  to  dress  it. 

8.  And  he  took  butter ,  and  milk, 
and  the  calf  which  he  had  dressed, 
and  set  it  bof(jre  them ;  and  he  stood 
by  them  under  the  tree,  and  they 
did  eat.  • 

9.  IT  And  they  said  unto  him, 
Where  in  Sarah  thy  wife?  And  he 
said,  Behold,  in  tlictent. 

10.  And  he  said,  I  will  certainly 
return  unto  thee  according  to  the 
time  of  life;  and,  lo,  Sarah  thy 
wife  shall  have  a  son.  And  Sarah 
heard  it  in  the  tent  door,  which  was 
behind  him, 

II.  Now  Abraham  and  Sarah 
were  old  and  well  stricken  in  age; 
and  it  ceased  to  be  with  Sarah  after 
the  manner  of  women. 


12.  Therefore  Sarah  laughed 
within  herself,  saying,  After  I  am 
wax  :d  old  shall  I  have  pleasure,  my 
lord  being  old  also  ? 

13.  And  the  Lokd  said  unto  Abra- 
ham, Wherefoi^e  did  Sarah  laugh, 
-saying.  Shall  I  of  a  surety  bear  a 
child,  which  am  old? 

14-  Is  any  thing  too  hard  for  the 
Lord  !  At  the  time  appointed  I  Avill 
return  unto  thee,  according  to  the 
time  of  life,  and  Sarah  shall  have  a 
son. 

15,  Then  Sarah  denied,  saying, 
I  laughed  not;  for  she  was  afraid. 
And  he  said,  iS'ay;  but  thou  didst 
laugh. 

lb.  ^And  the  men  rose  up  from 
thence,  and  looked  toward  Sodom: 
and  Abraham  went  with  them  to 
bring  them  on  the  way. 

17.  And  the  Lord,  said  Shall  I 
hide  from  Abraham  that  thing 
■which  I  do ; 

18.  Seeing  that  Abraham  shall 
surely  become  a  great  and  mighty 
nation,  and  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth  shall  be  blessed  in  him  ? 

19.  For  I  know  him,  that  he  will 
command  his  children  and  liis 
household  after  him,  and  tlicy  shall 
keep  the  way  of  the  Loro,  to  do 
justice  and  judgment :  that  the 
Lord  may  bring  upon  Abraham 
that  which  he  hath  spoken  of 
iiim, 

20.  And  the  Lord  said.  Because 
the  cry  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  is 
great,  and  because  their  sin  is  very 
grievous 

21.  I  will  go  down  now,  and  see 
whether  they  have  done  altoirether 
according  to  the  cry  of  it,  which  is 
come  unto  me  ;  and  if  not,  I  will 
know. 

22.  And  the  men  turned  their 
fixces  from  thence,  and  went  toward 
Sodom  Init  Abraham  stood  yet  be- 
fore the  Lord, 

23.  nr  And  Abraham  drew  near, 


ABRAHAM  AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


259 


nnd  said,  Wilt  thou  also  destroy  the 
righteous  with  the  Avicked  ? 

24.  I'eradventure  there  be  fifty 
righteous  within  the  city :  wilt  thou 
also  destroy  and  not  spare  the  place 
for  the  filty  righteous  that  are 
therein  ? 

25.  That  be  far  from  thee  to  do 
after  this  manner,  to  slay  the  right- 
eous Avith  the  wicked;  and  that  the 
righteous  should  be  as  the  wicked, 
that  be  far  from  thee:  Shall  not  the 
judge  of  all  the  earth  do  right? 

26.  And  the  Lord  said,  If  I  find 
in  Sodom  fifty  righteous  within  the 
city,  then  I  will  spare  all  the  place 
for  their  sakes. 

'27.  And  Abraham  answered  and 
said,  Behold  now,  I  have  taken 
upon  me  to  speak  unto  the  Loed, 
which  am  but  dust  and  ashes: 

28.  Perad  venture  there  shall  lack 
five  of  the  fifty  righteous:  wilt  thou 
destroy  all  the  city  for  lack  o/five  ? 
And  he  said.  If  I  find  there  forty 
and  five,  1  will  not  destroy  it. 


29.  And  he  spake  unto  him  yet 
again, and  said,  Perad  venture  there 
shall  be  forty  found  there.  And  he 
said,  I  Avill  not  do  it  for  forty's 
sake. 

30.  And  he  said  wnfo  Am,  Oh  let 
not  the  Lord  be  angry,  and  I  will 
speak  :  Peradventure  there  shall 
thirty  be  found  there.  And  he  said, 
I  will  not  do  it,  if  I  find  thirty 
there. 

31.  And  he  said,  Behold  now,  I 
have  taken  upon  me  to  speak  unto 
the  Lord :  Peradventure  there  shall 
be  twenty  found  there.  And  he 
said,  I  will  not  destroy  it  for  twen- 
ty's sake. 

32.  And  he  said,  Oh  let  not  the 
Lord  be  angry,  and  I  will  speak  yet 
but  this  once  :  Peradventure  ten 
shall  be  found  there.  And  he  said, 
I  will  not  destroy  it  for  ten's  sake. 

33.  And  the  Lord  went  his  way, 
as  soon  as  he  had  left  communing 
with  Abraham  :  and  Abraham  re- 
turned unto  his  place. 


486-  That  this  is  really  another  vision,  may  be  assumed 
from  its  resemblance  to  the  former  ones,  and  from  the  lan- 
guage and  nature  of  the  representation.  God  appeared 
to  Abraham  ;  but  he  never  appears  to  the  natural  vision 
of  man.  So  three  men  stood  by  him.  The  inference  is, 
that  they  suddenly  appeared  to  him,  as  an  image  in  a 
dream.  Abraham  ruiis  to  meet  them.  This,  and  all  else, 
until  the  Lord  went  his  way,  as  stated  at  the  close  of  the 
chapter,  is  of  the  same  character.  It  all  occurred  in  a 
vision  that  came  upon  Abraham,  as  he  sat  or  reclined  in 
his  tent  for  rest,  in  the  cool  of  the  day.  The  tent  was 
placed  under  a  tree,  verse  8,  for  the  purpose  doubtless  of 
being  better  protected  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the 
sun  ;  and  the  tent  door  was  selected  as  the  place  of  re- 
pose, as  being  more  exposed  to  the  refreshing  breeze. 
How  fit  the  circumstances  for  the  vision  that  was  to 
follow  I  The  laughing  of  Sarah,  and  her  denial  of  having 
laughed,  seem  much  more  fit  and  proper,  when  this  is 
regarded  as  a  vision,  than  with  any  other  view. 

487.  The   persons  who  stood   by  Abraham,  as   here 


260 


ARRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


stated,  are  called  7?ie?2.  They  were  three  in  number.  It 
is  not  true  that  one  of  the  three  was  the  Lord,  though 
there  is  confessedly  some  ambiguity  in  the  way  thoy  are 
spoken  of.  The  Lord  and  three  men,  is  the  more  reason- 
able construction. 

488.  "  And  the  Lord  said  ;  Because  the  cry  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  is  great,  and  because  their  sin  is  very 
grievous,  I  will  go  down  now  and  see,"  &c.  We  ought  to 
render  this  And  the  Lord  had  said  this  ;  as  it  is  plainly 
the  writer's  intention  to  inform  us  of  something  that  had 
been  done,  and  not  of  what  occurred  at  the  time  when 
this  interview  of  Abraham  took  place.  The  way  such 
language,  as  applied  to  God  and  indicating  imperfection 
in  his  attributes,  is  to  be  understood,  we  have  illustrated 
in  another  place,     pp.  47-50. 

The  plea  of  Abraham,  in  favor  of  Sodom,  is  exceedingly 
natural,  especially  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Lot  and  his 
family  resided  in  that  city. 

SECTION  XII.  —  Sodom  and  Gomorrah  Destroyed. 
CHAP.  XIX. 


1.  And  there  came  two  angels  to 
Sodom  at  even ;  and  Lot  sat  in  the 
gate  of  Sodom;  and  Lot  seeing 
them  rose  up  to  meet  them;  and  he 
bowed  himself  with  his  face  toward 
the  ground ; 

2.  And  he  said,  Behold  now,  my 
lords,  turn  in,  I  pray  you,  into 
your  servant's  house,  and  tarry 
all  night,  and  wash  your  feet,  and 
ye  shall  rise  up  early,  and  go  on 
your  ways.  And  they  said,  Nay; 
but  we  will  abide  in  the  street  all 
night. 

3.  And  he  pressed  upon  them 
greatly;  and  they  turned  in  unto 
him,  and  entered  into  his  house; 
and  he  made  them  a  feast,  and  did 
bake  unleavened  bread,  and  they 
did  eat. 

4.  IT  But  before  they  lay  down, 
the  men  of  the  city,  even  the  men 
of  Sodom,  compassed  the    house 


round,  both  old  and  young,  all  the 
people  from  every  quarter: 

5.  And  they  called  unto  Lot, 
and  said  unto  him,  Where  are  the 
men  which  came  in  to  thee  this 
night?  bring  them  out  unto  us 
that  we  may  know  them. 

6.  And  Lot  went  out  at  the  door 
unto  them,  and  shut  the  door  after 
him. 

7.  And  said,  1  pray  you,  breth- 
ren, do  not  so  wickedly. 

8.  Behold  now,  I  have  two  daugh- 
ters which  have  not  known  man; 
let  me,  I  pray  you,  bring  tliem  out 
unto  you,  and  do  ye  to  them  as  is 
good  in  your  eyes:  only  unto  these 
men  do  nothing ;  for  therefore  came 
they  under  the  shadoAV  of  my  roof. 

9.  And  they  said,  Stand  back. 
And  they  said  again,  This  one  fel- 
low came  in  to  sojourn,  and  he  will 
needs  be  a  judge:  now  will  we  deal 


ABRAHAM   AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


261 


worse  with  thee,  than  with  them. 
And  they  pressed  sore  upon  the 
man,  even  Lot,  ;aid  came  near  to 
bre  ik  the  door. 

10.  But  the  men  put  forth  their 
hand,  and  pulled  Lot  into  the  house 
to  them,  and  shut  to  the  door. 

11.  And  they  smote  the  men  that 
wei  e  at  the  door  of  the  house  with 
blindness,  both  small  and  great; 
so  that  they  wearied  themselves  to 
find  the  doo'-. 

12.  %  And  the  men  said  unto 
Lot,  Hast  thou  here  any  besides? 
son-in-law,  and  thy  sons,  and  thy 
daughters,  and  whatsoever  th(.)u 
hast  in  tlie  city,  bring  them  out  of 
this  place: 

13.  For  we  will  destroy  this 
place,  because  the  cry  of  them  is 
waxen  great  before  the  face  of  the 
Lord  ;  and  the  Lord  hath  sent  us 
to  destroy  it. 

14.  And  Lot  went  out,  and  spake 
unto  his  sons-in-law,  which  mar- 
ried his  daughters,  and  said,  Up, 
get  you  out  of  this  place;  for  the 
Lord  will  destroy  this  city.  But 
he  seemed  as  one  that  mocked  unto 
his  sons-in-law. 

15.  ^  And  when  the  mornhig 
arose,  then  the  angels  hastened 
Lot,  saying.  Arise,  take  thy  wife, 
and  thy  two  daughtei-s,  which  are 
here ;  lest  thou  be  consumed  in  the 
iniquity  of  the  city. 

16.  And  while  he  lingered,  the 
men  laid  hold  upon  his  hand,  and 
upon  the  hand  of  his  wife,  and 
upon  the  hand  of  his  two  daugh- 
ters ;  the  Lord  being  merciful  unto 
him:  and  they  brought  him  forth, 
and  set  him  without  the  city. 

17.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
they  had  brought  them  forth 
abroad,  that  he  said.  Escape  for 
thy  life;  look  not  behind  thee, 
neither  stay  thou  in  all  the  plain ; 
escape  to  the  mountain,  lest  thou 
be  consumed. 


18.  And  Lot  said  unto  them.  Oh, 
not  so,  my  Lord: 

19.  Behold  now,  thy  servant 
hatli  found  gv.ice  in  thy  sight,  and 
thou  hast  magnified  thy  mercy, 
which  thou  hast  shewed  unto  me  in 
saving  my  life;  and  I  cannot  es- 
cape to  the  mountain,  lest  some 
evil  take  me,  and  I  die: 

20.  Behold  now,  this  city  is  near 
to  tlee  unto,  and  it  is  a  little  one  : 
Oh,  let  me  escape  thither,  {is  it  not 
a  little  one  ?)  and  my  soul  shall  live. 

21.  And  he  said  unto  him,  See, 
I  have  accepted  thee  concerning 
this  thing  also,  that  I  will  not 
overthrow  the  city,  for  the  which 
thou  hast  spoken. 

22.  Haste  thee,  escape  thither; 
for  I  cannot  do  any  thing  till  thou 
be  come  thither.  Therefore  the 
name  of  the  city  was  called  Zoar. 

23.  The  sun  was  risen  upon  the 
earth  when  Lot  entered  into  Zoar. 

24.  IT  Then  the  Lord  rained  upon 
Sodom  and  upon  Gomorrah  brim- 
stone and  fire  from  the  Lord  out 
of  heaven; 

25.  And  he  overthrew  those  cities, 
and  all  the  plain,  and  all  the  in- 
habitants of  the  cities,  and  that 
which  grew  upon  the  ground. 

26.  IT  But  his  wife  looked  back 
from  behind  him,  and  she  became 
a  pillar  of  salt. 

27.  IT  And  Abraham  gat  up  early 
in  the  morning  to  the  place  where 
he  stood  before  the  Lord: 

28.  And  he  looked  toward  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah ,  and  toward  all  the 
land  of  the  plain,  and  beheld,  and 
lo,  the  smoke  of  the  country  went 
up  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace. 

29.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
God  destroyed  the  cities  of  the 
plain,  that  God  remembered  Abra- 
ham, and  sent  Lot  out  of  the  midst 
of  the  overthrow,  when  he  over- 
threw the  cities  in  the  which  Lot 
dwelt. 


489.  I  do  not  feel  at  all  certain  but  that  this  chapter, 
as  far  as  verse  26th,  is  to  be  regarded  in  the  same  light 


262  ABRAHA]\I     AND  HIS    FAMILY. 

as  the  former  chapter,  either  as  a  part  of  the  same  vision, 
or  another  that  occurred  during  the  nig-lit  of  the  same 
day.  The  destruction  of  Sodom,  the  residence  of  Lot, 
h:id  been  announced  ;  and  it  is  certain  that  the  mind  of 
Abraham  was  excited  with  apprehensions  on  account  of 
his  friend,  of  whose  fate  the  vision  had  not  informed  him. 
Wliat  more  natural  then  than  that  he  should  be  favored 
with  another  communication,  wherein  the  fate  of  Lot 
sh«uild  be  indicated,  as  well  as  the  principal  circum- 
stances connected  with  that  signal  overthrow. 

490.  Many  of  the  circumstances  here  spoken  of,  agree 
mriCh  better  with  this  theory,  than  with  any  other.  Tlie 
whole  of  the  people  of  Sodom  gathering  themselves 
around  the  house  of  Lot,  and  though  bent  on  securing 
the  stranger,  yet  being  unable  to  do  so,  the  supernaturjd 
strength  put  forth  by  the  angels,  the  pro}  osition  of  Lot 
to  give  up  his  two  daughters  to  the  mob  ;  the  whole 
multitude  being  struck  with  blindness  ;  the  wife  of  Lot 
becoming  a  pillar  of  salt ;  and  finally  the  cities  of  the 
plain  being  destroyed  by  fire,  coming  down  from  the 
Lord  out  of  heaven,  when  it  is  evident  that  the  cities 
were  swallowed  up  by  an  earthquake,  and  if  burned  at 
all,  burned  with  fire  from  the  earth,  rather  than  from  hea- 
ven. These  are  circumstances  that  are  more  fit  to  be 
referred  to  a  vision,  than  to  be  regarded  as  actual  occur- 
rences, and  are  with  this  view,  no  less  instructive,  as  in- 
dicating to  Abraham  the  main  facts  about  which  he  was 
solicitous. 

491.  And  I  would  add,  that,  with  this  view,  the 
account  following  the  vision  comes  in  with  great  pro- 
priety :  —  "  And  Abraham  got  up  early  in  the  morning, 
(having  had  the  vision  the  preceding  night,)  to  the  plain 
where  he  stood  before  the  Lord  ;  (in  the  first  vision,) 
and  he  looked  toward  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  and  toward 
all  the  land  of  the  plain  ;  and  behold  and  lo  the  smoke 
of  the  country  went  up,  as  the  smoke  of  a  furnace.  And 
it  came  to  pass  when  God  destroyed  the  cities  of  the 
plain,  that  God  remembered  Abraham,  and  sent  Lot  ouV 
of  the  midst  of  the  overthrow,  when  he  overthrew  the 
cities  in  which  Lot  dwelt.'' 


ABRAHAM    AND    HIS    FAMILY.  263 

This  seems  a  plain  historical  statement  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  Sodom  and  the  escape  of  Lot,  while  the  preced- 
ing has  in  it  many  ciicumstances  that,  as  matters  of 
fact,  are  difficult  to  understand,  but  which  may  very  fitly 
be  brought  in  as  appendages  of  a  vision,  and  as  such  are 
not  difficult  or  incredible.  For  we  know  that  in  dreams 
and  visions,  things  natural  and  unnatural,  possible  and 
impossible,  are  frequently  combined  ;  and  we  are  to  look 
at  their  significance,  and  not  at  their  literal  harmony  or 
possibility.  Besides  ;  the  last  passage,  upon  the  com- 
mon view,  is  only  a  repetition  of  the  other,  so  far  as  it 
relates  to  the  destruction  of  the  cities  and  the  escape  of 
Lot,  and  is  therefore  wholly  unnecessary  ;  while,  with 
our  view,  it  is  not  a  repetition,  but  a  historical  statement 
of  what  had  before  only  been  foreshadowed. 

492.  I  would  add,  that,  though  the  representation  is  a 
vision,  and  therefore  unreal,  the  circumstances  of  the 
vision,  constituting  the  drapery  with  which  it  is  pre- 
sented, arose  out  of  existing  facts.  The  hospitality  of 
Lot  was  quite  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  ; 
the  proposition  of  the  angels  to  remain  in  the  street, 
covered  with  their  own  tent  only,  it  being  a  warm  sea- 
son, as  we  had  been  told  in  the  previous  chapter ;  the 
hostility  of  the  men  of  the  city  toward  Lot,  because  "  he 
would  need  be  a  judge  -/^  the  offer  of  Lot  to  give  up  his 
daughters  to  the  mob,  rather  than  violate  the  rites  of  hos- 
pitality held  sacred  in  that  country ;  the  divine  protec- 
tion extended  to  the  righteous  man,  especially  in  view  of 
his  being  a  relation  of  Abraham  ;  and  finally,  the  over- 
throw of  the  cities  being  referred  directly  to  God.  All 
these,  and  other  particulars,  though  changed  somewhat 
from  a  literal  consistency  and  harmony,  and  exaggerated 
above  what  would  be  expected  as  real  occurrences,  are 
nevertheless  all  derived  from  the  circumstances  of  the 
age,  and  the  prevailing  habits  and  views  of  the  people. 

493.  A  few  additional  particulars,  alluded  to  in  the 
passage,  may  be  briefly  noticed. 

The  angels  that  came  to  Lot  are  called  men,  through- 
out the  passage,  whenever  there  is  any  allusion  to  them, 
except  when  they  are  first  announced.  They  were  both 
angels   and  men  :  angels  as  denoting  their  office,  being 


264  ABRAHAM   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 

messengers,  as  the  word  means,  and  men,  as  having  all 
the  attributes,  as  well  as  form  of  men ;  and  hence  they 
are  spoken  of  as  eating,  sleeping,  putting  forth  physical 
strength,  &c. 

Lot  sat  in  the  gate  of  the  city.  AVhether  Lot  was 
really  a  judge  in  Sodom,  as  sitting  in  the  gate  would  in- 
dicate, we  cannot  say,  but  it  is  certain  that  he  is  so  rep- 
resented in  the  passage  ;  hence  the  complaint  of  the 
people,  "  This  one  fellow  came  in  to  sojourn,  and  he  will 
needs  be  a  judge." 

The  rites  of  hospitality  have  always  been  regarded,  in 
the  East,  as  peculiarly  sacred  ;  and  are  so  regarded  at 
the  present  day. 

The  sons-in-law  of  Lot,  may  have  been  the  betrothed 
of  his  daughters,  as  no  other  than  the  two  daughters  that 
were  saved  with  him,  are  mentioned  in  the  narrative. 
Or  the  representation  may  be  intended  merely  to  show, 
that,  out  of  regard  to  Lot,  all  his  relations  might  be 
saved,  if  they  would,  though  as  a  reality  he  might  have 
had  no  sons-in-law. 

SECTION  XIII.  —  Lot   and   his   Daughters   in  the 
Mountain. 

CHAP.  XIX. 

i 


30.  V  And  Lot  went  up  out  of  j  unto  the  younger,  Behold,  I  lay 
Zoar,  and  dwelt  in  the  mountain,  '  yesternight  with  my  father:  let  us 


and  his  two  daughters  with  him  ;  make  him  drink  wine  this  night 
for  he  feared  to  dwell  in  Zoar:  and  also;  and  go  thou  in,  and  lie  with 
he  dwelt  in  a  cave,  he  and  his  two  j  him,  that  we  may  preserve  seed  of 
daughters.  our  father. 


31.  And  the  first  born  said  unto 
the  younger,  Our  father  is  old,  and 


35.  And  they  made  their  father 
drink  wine  that  night  also:  and  the 


there  is  not  a  man  in  the  earth  to  i  younger  arose,  and  lay  with  him: 
come  in  unto  us  after  the  manner  and  he  perceived  not  when  she  lay 
of  all  the  earth:  i  down,  nor  when  she  arose. 

32.  Come,  let  us  make  our  father  !  36.  Thus  were  both  the  daugh- 
drink  wine,  and  we  will  lie  with  i  ters  of  Lot  Avith  child  by  their 
him,  that  we  may  preserve  seed  of    father. 

our  f  ither.  |      37.  And  the  firstborn  bare  a  son , 

33.  And  they  made  their  fxther  l  and  called  his  name  Moab;  the  same 
drink  wine  that  night;  and  the  first  I  is  the  father  of  the  Moabites  unto 
born  went  in,  and   lay  with   her     this  day. 

father;  and  he  perceived  not  when  38.  And  the  younger,  she  also 
she  lay  down,  nor  when  she  arose,  j  bare  a  son,  and  called  his  name  Ben- 

34.  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the  !  ammi;  the  same  is  the  father  of  the 
morrow,  that  the  first  born  said     children  of  Ammon  unto  this  day. 


ABRAHAM   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


265 


494.  Lot  was  unwilling  to  flee  to  the  mountains  when 
Sodom  was  destroyed ;  but  afterwards,  fearing  to  dwell 
in  Zoar,  he  went  up  to  the  mountain  near  by,  and  dwelt 
in  a  cave.  On  what  his  fear  was  based,  as  to  dwelling  in 
Z(jar,  we  are  not  informed.  As  the  place  was  near  to 
Sodom  he  may  have  feared  lest  it  would  yet  share  the 
same  fate,  and  he  concluded  that  the  danger  of  the  wild 
beasts  of  the  mountain,  would  be  the  least  of  two  evils. 

495.  The  conduct  of  Lot's  daughters  can  be  excused 
only  by  one  circumstance  mentioned  incidentally  in  the 
narrative.  They  supposed  that  the  destruction  of  Sodom 
had  swept  away  all  the  men  in  the  country,  and  that  the 
future  continuance  of  the  race  depended  only  on  them- 
selves. But  it  may  be  asked  ;  What  need  of  recording 
at  all  their  abominable  wickedness  ?  The  answer  is,  that 
the  Moabites  and  the  Ammonites  are  tribes  that  make  a 
conspicuous  figure  in  the  subsequent  history  ;  and  it  was 
deemed  important  to  record  their  origin.  They  originated 
from  Moab  and  Ben-ammi,  sons  of  Lot  by  his  daughters. 

SECTION  XIV.  — Sojourn  in  Gerar. 


CHAP.  XX. 


1.  And  Abraham  journeyed  from 
thence  toward  the  south  country, 
and  dwelt  between  Kadesh  and 
Shur,  and  sojourned  in  Gerar. 

2.  And  Abraham  said  of  Sarah 
his  wife,  She  is  my  sister  :  and  A- 
binielech  king  of  Gerar  sent  and 
took  Sarah. 

3.  But  God  came  to  Abimelech  in 
a  dream  by  night,  and  said  to  him, 
Behold,  thou  art  but  a  dead  man, 
for  the  woman  which  thou  hast  ta- 
ken; for  she  is  a  man's  wife. 

4.  But  Abimelech  had  not  come 
near  her;  and  he  said,  Lord,  wilt 
thou  slay  also  a  righteous  nation  ? 

5.  Said  he  not  unto  me.  She  is 
my  sister  ?  and  she,  even  she  her- 
self, said.  He  is  my  brother:  in  the 
integrity  of  my  heart  and  innocen- 
cy  of  my  hands  have  I  done  this. 

6.  And  God  said  unto  him  in  a 
dream,  Yea,  I  know  that  thou  didst 

12 


this  in  the  integrity  of  thy  heart; 
for  I  also  withheld  thee  from  sin- 
ning against  me:  therefore  suffered 
I  thee  not  to  touch  her. 

7.  Now,  therefore  restore  the 
man  his  wife;  for  he  is  a  prophet, 
and  he  shall  pray  for  thee,  and  thou 
shalt  live  :  and  if  thou  restore  her 
not,  know  thou  that  thou  shalt 
surely  die,  thou,  and  all  that  are 
thine. 

8.  Therefore  Abimelech  rose  early 
in  the  morning,  and  called  all  his 
servants,  and  told  all  these  thingc 
in  their  ears:  and  the  men  were  sore 
afraid. 

9.  Then  Abimelech  called  Abra- 
ham, and  said  unto  him,  What  hast 
thou  done  unto  us  ?  and  what  have 
I  offended  thee,  that  thou  haS'. 
brought  on  me  andonmy  kingdo£i 
a  great  sin  ?  thou  hast  done  deedd 
unto  me  that  ought  not  to  be  done. 


266 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


10.  And  Abimelech  said  unto  A- 
braham,  What  sawest  thou,  that 
thou  hast  done  this  thing  ? 

11.  And  Abraham  said,  Because 
I  thought,  Surely  the  fear  of  God 
is  not  in  this  place :  and  they  will 
slay  me  for  my  wife's  sake. 

12.  And  yet  indeed  she  is  my  sis- 
ter;  she  is  the  daughter  of  my  fath- 
er, but  not  the  daughter  of  my 
mother ;  and  she  became  my  wife 

13.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
God  caused  me  to  wander  from  my 
father's  house,  that  I  said  unto  her. 
This  is  thy  kindness  which  thou 
shalt  shew  unto  me ;  at  every  place 
whither  we  shall  come,  say  of  me, 
He  is  my  brother. 

14.  IT  And  Abimelech  took  sheep, 
and  oxen,  and  men-servants,  and 
women-servants,   and  gave    them 


unto  Abraham,  and  restored  him 
Sarah  his  wife. 

If).  And  Abimelech  said.  Behold, 
my  land  is  before  thee :  dwell  where 
it  pleaseth  thee. 

16.  And  unto  Sarah  he  said.  Be- 
hold, I  have  given  thy  brother  a 
thousand  pieces  of  silver:  behold, 
he  is  to  thee  a  covering  of  the  eyes, 
xinto  all  that  are  with  thee,  and 
with  all  other:  thus  she  was  reprov- 
ed. 

17.  IT  So  Abraham  prayed  unto 
God  :  and  God  healed  Abimelech, 
and  his  wife,  and  his  maid-servants; 
and  they  bare  children. 

18.  For  the  Lord  had  fast  closed 
up  all  the  wombs  of  the  house  of 
Abimelech,  because  of  Sarah,  Abra- 
ham's wife. 


496.  It  will  be  remembered  that  when  Hagar  fled  from 
her  mistress,  she  was  found  in  the  way  to  Shur.  It  ap- 
pears that  Kadesh,  Gerar  and  Shur,  were  in  the  south 
country.  Other  passages  make  it  evident  that  this  south 
country  was  in  the  south-west  part  of  Canaan,  near  to 
Egypt ;  and  we  before  gave  this  as  a  reason  why  the 
Egyptian  handmaid  was  going  that  way. 

497.  That  dreams,  inspired  by  the  divine  spirit,  were 
not  confined  to  the  Hebrews,  is  shown  in  this  passage  ; 
and  it  is  not,  we  conceive,  unreasonable,  to  suppose  that 
divine  communications  have  been  given  to  other  nations 
besides  the  Hebrews,  if  not  to  all  nations  ;  though  they 
have  not  so  clearly  recognized  them,  or  at  least  have  not 
so  faithfully  recorded  and  preserved  them. 

498.  Here  Abraham  practices  the  same  deception  he 
had  formerly  done  in  Egypt,  and  with  the  same  success. 
He  was  of  opinion  that  the  people  of  Gerar  were  so  cor- 
rupt, that  they  would  not  at  all  respect  the  marriage  rela- 
tion, and  therelore,  he  was  bound  to  deceive  them,  and  so 
avoid  bad  consequences.  He  found,  however,  that  the 
people  were  better  than  he  expected.  The  same  thing 
has  often  occurred  with  others.  Men  regarded  as  hea- 
then and  infidels,  are  found  practising  on  better  principles 
than  they  have  the  credit  of  doing. 


ABRAHAM  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 


267 


499.  The  afflictions  brought  upon  Abimelech  on  ac- 
count of  Abraham's  wife,  were  such  only  perhaps,  as 
might  be  expected  from  the  circumstances,  on  natural 
grounds. 

SECTION  XV.  — Birth  of  Isaac. 
CHAP.  XXI. 


1.  And  the  Lord  visited  Sarah  as 
he  had  said,  and  the  Lord  did  unto 
Sarah  as  he  had  spoken. 

2.  For  Sarah  conceived,  and  bare 
Abraham  a  son  in  his  old  age ;  at 
the  set  time  of  which  God  had  spo- 
ken to  him. 

3.  And  Abraham  called  the  name 
of  his  son  that  was  born  unto  him, 
whom  Sarah  bare  to  him,  Isaac. 

4.  And  Abraham  circumcised  his 
son  Isaac,  being  eight  days  old,  as 
God  had  commanded  him. 

5.  And  Abraham  was  an  hundred 


years  old,  when  his  son  Isaac  was 
born  unto  him. 

6.  IT  And  Sarah  said,  God  hath 
made  me  to  laugh,  so  that  all  that 
hear  will  laugh  with  me. 

7.  And  she  said.  Who  would  have 
said  unto  Abraham,  that  Sarah 
should  have  given  children  suck  ? 
for  I  have  borne  him  a  son  in  his 
old  age. 

8.  And  the  child  grew,  and  was 
weaned  :  and  Abraham  made  a 
great  feast  the  same  day  that  Isaac 
was  weaned. 


^  500.  This  passage  contains  several  references  to  the 
time  and  occasion  when  the  birth  of  Isaac  was  announced. 
The  promise  given,  the  time  it  was  to  be  fulfilled,  the 
name  before  indicated,  the  circumcision,  &c.,  are  all 
alluded  to  with  reference  to  what  had  taken  place  on  that 
occasion. 

501.  That  feasts  were  common  on  the  occasion  of 
weaning  children,  cannot  be  justly  inferred  from  this  sin- 
gle reference.  The  peculiar  circumstances,  connected 
with  that  child,  may  have  induced  the  father  to  practice 
some  things  that  were  not  usual. 


268 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


SECTION  XVI.  —  Hagar  and  her  Son  Rejected. 


CHAP.  XXI. 


9.  IT  And  Sarah  saw  the  son  of 
Hagar  the  Egyptian,  which  she  had 
borne  unto  Abraham,  mocking. 

10.  "Wherefore  she  said  unto  A- 
braham.  Cast  out  this  bond-wo- 
man  and  her  son :  for  the  son  of  this 
bond-woman  shall  not  be  heir  with 
my  son,  even  with  Isaac. 

11.  And  the  thing  was  very  griev- 
ous in  Abraham's  sight,  because  of 
his  son. 

12.  And  God  said  unto  Abraham, 
Let  it  not  be  grievous  in  thy  sight 
because  of  the  lad,  and  because  of 
tliy  bond-woman ;  in  all  that  Sarah 
hath  said  unto  thee,  hearken  unto 
her  voice;  for  in  Isaac  shall  thy 
seed  be  called. 

13.  And  also  of  the  son  of  the 
bond-woman  will  I  make  a  nation, 
because  he  is  thy  seed. 

14.  And  Abraham  rose  tip  early 
in  the  morning,  and  tuok  bread, 
and  a  bottle  of  Avater,  and  gave  it 
unto  Hagar  (putting  it  on  her 
shoulder)  and  the  child,  and  sent 
her  away:  and  she  departed,  and 
wandered  in  the  wilderness  of  Ueer- 
sheba. 

15.  And  the  water  was  spent  in 


the  bottle,  and  she  cast  the  child 
under  one  of  the  shrubs. 

16.  And  she  went,  and  sat  her 
down  over  against  him  a  good  way 
off,  as  it  were  a  bow-shot,  for  she 
said.  Let  me  not  see  the  death  of 
the  child.  And  she  sat  over  against 
him,  and  lifted  up  her  voice,  and 
wept. 

17.  And  God  heard  the  voice  of 
the  lad ;  and  the  angel  of  God  call- 
ed to  Hagar  out  of  heaven,  and  said 
unto  her.  What  aileth  thee,  Hagar? 
Fear  not :  for  God  hath  heard  the 
voice  of  the  lad  where  he  is. 

18.  Arise,  lift  up  the  lad,  and 
hold  him  in  thine  hand ;  for  I  will 
make  him  a  great  nation. 

19.  And  God  opened  her  eyes, 
and  she  saw  a  well  of  water;  and 
she  went,  and  filled  the  bottle  with 
water  and  gave  the  lad  to  drink. 

20.  And  God  was  with  the  lad; 
and  he  grew,  and  dwelt  in  the  wil- 
derness, and  became  an  archer. 

21.  And  he  dwelt  iu  the  wilder- 
ness ofParan:  and  his  mother  took 
him  a  wife  out  of  the  land  of 
Egypt. 


502.  The  feeling  that  Abraham  had  for  his  son  Ishraael, 
was  exceedingly  natural  ;  and  it  was  perhaps  quite  as 
natural  that  Sarah  should  have  a  different  feeling.  But  a 
divine  command  determined  him  in  favor  of  carrying  out 
the  wishes  of  his  wife  ;  though  he  was  obliged  to  sacri- 
fice the  tender  feeling  of  paternal  affection. 

503.  He  made  all  the  provision  that  the  nature  of  the 
case  admitted  of,  for  Hagar  and  her  son,  in  their  journey 
and  sent  tliem  away.  As  on  a  former  occasion,  so  now, 
ITagar  directs  her  way  toward  her  former  home  in  Egypt. 
The  wilderness  of  Beersheba,  where  she  wandered,  lay 
in  that  direction.     See  Geography.     It  appears  that  she 


1 


ABRAHAM   AND     HIS     FAMILY. 


269 


lost  her  way  ;  and  as  water  was  not  easily  obtained  in 
that  country,  death  from  the  want  of  it,  seemed  inevi- 
table. In  this  emergency  Hagar  did  what  any  mother 
might  be  expected  to  do,  under  the  same  circumstances; 
and  the  narrative  recording  the  circumstances,  is  afiect- 
ing  in  proportion  to  its  simplicity.  The  manner  in  which 
the  angel  of  the  Lord  appeared  to  Hagar,  and  communi- 
cated to  her  what  is  here  recorded,  we  suppose  to  be  the 
same  as  most  other  divine  communications,  contained  in 
this  book;  that  is,  in  a  vision.     See  p.  30. 

504.  The  mother  took,  for  Ishmael,  a  wife  from  the 
land  of  Egypt,  for  the  obvious  reason  that  she  was  an 
Egyptian ;  and  her  rejection  by  the  Hebrew  patriarch, 
doubtless  increased  her  desire  to  ally  her  son  with  the 
Egyptians  rather  than  with  the  Hebrews. 

SECTION  XYH. — Covenant  with  Abimelech. 
CHAP.  XXI. 


22.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that 
time,  that  Abimelech  and  Phichol 
the  chief  captain  of  his  host  spake 
unto  Abraham,  saying,  God  is  with 
thee  in  all  that  thou  doest: 

23.  Now  therefore  swear  unto 
me  here  by  God  that  thou  wilt  not 
deal  falsely  with  me,  nor  with  my 
son,  nor  with  my  son's  son:  but 
accordmg  to  the  kindness  that  I 
have  done  unto  thee,  thou  shalt  do 
unto  me,  and  to  the  land  wherein 
thou  hast  sojourned. 

24.  And  Abraham  said,  I  will 
swear. 

25.  And  Abraham  reproved 
Abimelech  because  of  a  well  of 
water,  which  Abimelech 's  servants 
had  violently  taken  away. 

26.  And  Abimelech  said,  I  wot 
not  who  hath  done  this  thing:  nei- 
ther didst  thou  tell  me,  neither  yet 
heard  I  of  it,  but  to-day. 

27.  And  Abraham  took  sheep 
and  oxen,  and  gave  them  unto 
Abimelech ;  and  both  of  them  made 
a  covenant. 


28.  And  Abraham  set  seven 
ewe  lambs  of  the  flock  by  them- 
selves. 

29.  And  Abimelech  said  unto 
Abraham,  What  mean  these  seven 
ewe  lambs  which  thou  hast  set  by 
themselves  ? 

30.  And  he  said.  For  these  seven 
ewe  lambs  shalt  thou  take  of  my 
hand,  that  they  may  be  a  witness 
unto  me,  that  I  have  digged  this 
well. 

31.  Wherefore  he  called  that 
place  Beersheba;  because  there 
they  sware,  both  of  them. 

32.  Thus  they  made  a  covenant 
at  Beersheba:  then  Abimelech  rose 
up,  and  Phichol  the  chief  captain 
of  his  host,  and  they  returned 
into  the  land  of  the  Philistines. 

33.  IT  And  Abraham  planted  a 
grove  in  Beersheba,  and  called 
there  on  the  name  of  the  Lord,  the 
everlasting  God. 

34.  And  Abraham  sojourned  in 
the  Philistines'  land  many  days. 


270 


ABRAHAM  AND   HIS    FAmLY. 


505.  The  oath  has,  in  all  ages,  been  regarded  as 
placing  men  under  the  strongest  obligations  to  carry  out 
those  engagements  having  its  sanction.  The  obligation, 
in  this  instance,  is  rendered  more  binding  by  the  bestow- 
ment  of  a  valuable  gift,  which  would  remind  Abimelech 
no  less  than  the  oath,  of  the  necessity  of  fulfilling  his 
engagements.  The  seven  ewe  lambs  had  a  special  de- 
sign. They  were  a  memento  that  the  well,  about  which 
a  misunderstanding  had  existed,  was  Abraham's  and  not 
Abimelech's.  The  circumstance  of  their  being  lambs  and 
ewes  would  ensure  their  longer  continuance,  and  thereby 
would  render  the  memento  more  valuable  as  such. 

506.  The  forming  of  this  covenant,  seems  to  have 
been  recorded  mainly  to  show  the  origin  of  the  name 
Beersheba,  (well  of  the  oath,)  as  that  place  became 
somewhat  noted  in  after  times.  When  the  name  is  asso- 
ciated with  events  that  occurred  before  this  time,  it  is 
given  by  anticipation  ;  in  other  words,  the  writer  gives 
the  modem  name,  as  better  understood  than  the  ancient 
one.  It  is  not  certain  but  that  the  wilderness  of  Beer- 
sheba and  of  Paran  are  the  same.  What  is  said  of 
Hagar  and  Ishmael  seems  to  favor  the  idea  of  their 
identity. 

507.  The  grove  planted  by  Abraham  in  Beersheba, 
had  a  good  object  in  view  ;  but  groves  were  made  the 
places  of  idolatrous  worship  at  a  later  day,  and  are  often 
alluded  to  in  this  connection,  in  other  parts  of  the  Bible. 

SECTION  XVIII.— Offering  of  Isaac. 


CHAP.  XXII. 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass  after  these 
things  that  God  did  tempt  Abra- 
ham, and  said  unto  him,  Abraham: 
and  he  said,  Behold,  here  I  am. 

2.  And  he  said,  Take  now  thy 
son,  thine  only  son  Isaac,  whom 
thou  lovest,  and  get  thee  into  the 
land  of  Moriah;  and  ofter  him 
there  for  a  burnt-offering  upon  one 
of  the  mountains  which  I  will  tell 
thee  of. 

3.  And  Abraham  rose  up  early 


in  the  morning,  and  saddled  his 
ass,  and  took  two  of  his  young 
men  with  him,  and  Isaac  his  son, 
and  clave  the  wood  for  the  burnt- 
ottering,  and  rose  up,  and  went 
unto  the  place  of  which  God  had 
told  him. 

4.  Then  on  the  third  day  Abra- 
ham lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw  the 
place  afar  off. 

5.  And  Abraham  said  unto  his 
young  men,  Abide  you  here  with 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


271 


,  the  ass ;  and  I  and  the  lad  will  go 
yonder  and  worship  and  come 
again  to  you. 

6.  And  Abi-aham  took  the  wood 
of  the  burnt  offering,  and  laid  it 
upon  Isaac  his  son ;  and  he  took  the 
fire  in  his  hand,  and  a  knife:  and 
they  went  both  of  them  together. 

7.  And  Isaac  spake  unto  Abra- 
ham his  father,  and  said,  My  fa- 
ther: and  he  said.  Here  am  1,  my 
son.  And  he  said,  Behold  the  fire 
and  the  wood;  but  where  is  the 
lamb  for  a  burnt  offering  ? 

8.  And  Abraham  said.  My  son, 
God  will  provide  himself  a  lamb 
for  a  burnt-offering:  so  they  went 
both  of  them  together. 

9.  And  they  came  to  the  place 
which  God  had  told  him  of;  and 
Abraham  built  an  altar  there,  and 
laid  the  wood  in  order;  and  bound 
Isaac  his  son,  and  laid  him  on  the 
altar  upon  the  wood. 

10.  And  Abraham  stretched  forth 
his  hand,  and  took  the  knife  to  slay 
his  son. 

11.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
called  unto  him  out  of  heaven,  and 
said,  Abraham,  Abraham:  and  he 
said.  Here  am  I. 

12.  And  he  said,  Lay  not  thine 
hand  upon  the  lad,  neither  do  thou 
any  thing  unto  him:  for  now  I 
know  that  thou  fearest  God,  see- 


ing thou  hast  not  withheld    thy 
son,  thine  only  son  from  me. 

13.  And  Abraham  lifted  up  his 
eyes,  and  looked,  and  behold,  be- 
hind him  a  ram  caught  in  a  thicket 
by  his  horns:  and  Abraham  went 
and  took  the  ram,  and  ottered  him 
up  for  a  burnt-ottering  in  the  stead 
of  his  son. 

14.  And  Abraham  called  the 
name  of  that  place  Jehovah-jireh: 
as  it  is  said  to  this  day.  In  the 
mount  of  the  Lord  it  shall  be  seen. 

15.  IT  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
called  unto  Abraham  out  of  heaven 
the  second  time. 

16.  And  said,  By  myself  have  I 
sworn,  saith  the  Lord,  for  because 
thou  hast  done  this  thing,  and  hast 
not  withheld  thy  son,  thine  only 
son  : 

17.  That  in  blessing  I  will  bless 
thee,  and  in  multiplying  I  will 
multiply  thy  seed  as  the  stars  of 
the  heaven,  and  as  the  sand  which 
is  upon  the  sea-shore ;  and  thy  seed 
shall  possess  the  gate  of  his  ene- 
mies; 

18.  And  in  thy  seed  shall  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  be  blessed ; 
because  thou  hast  obeyed  my  voice. 

19.  So  Abraham  returned  unto 
his  young  men,  and  they  rose  up 
and  went  together  to  Beersheba  ; 
and  Abraham  dwelt  at  Beersheba. 


508.  That  Abraham  should  have  shown  a  willingness 
to  sacrifice  his  son,  can  be  accounted  for,  only  bv  his 
having  the  fullest  assurance  that  the  command  to  do  so 
was  truly  divine.  We  may  not  be  certain  as  to  the 
exact  mode  by  which  that  command  was  given  ;  but 
whatever  that  mode  may  have  been,  the  patriarch  did 
not  doubt  its  authenticity.  Add  to  this  consideration, 
that,  for  aught  we  know  to  the  contrary,  the  practice  of 
offering  human  sacrifices  existed  as  early  as  the  time  of 
Abraham,  and  had  been  practiced  by  idolatrous  nations 
around  him  ;  and  nothing  had  yet  been  made  known  to 
him,  by  which  he  could  be  sure  that  they  were  not  to  be 
a  part  of  the  worship  of  the  true  God.  With  some  de- 
gree of  familiarity  with  human  sacrificing  on  the  part  of 


272  ABRAHAM   AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

others,  therefore  ;  and  having  the  fullest  assurance  of  a 
divine  command,  we  can  the  more  readily  yield  assent 
to  the  historical  fact  here  recorded,  however  unnatural 
it  may  seem  to  us,  aside  from  these  circumstances.  Add 
to  this,  the  reason  given  by  Paul,  that  Abraham  expect- 
ed that  Isaac  would  be  raised  from  the  dead  —  an  expec- 
tation he  had  every  reason  for  entertaining,  since  it  was 
through  Isaac,  that  the  patriarch  was  to  become  the 
father  of  many  nations  —  and  the  verity  of  the  transac- 
tion becomes  still  more  obvious.  Make  one  more  addi- 
tion. The  world  needed  precisely  such  an  event  to  fix 
the  seal  of  God's  displeasure  upon  human  sacrifices,  and 
forever  exclude  them  from  his  worship.  And  the  effect  is 
seen  in  the  remarkable  fact,  that,  while  no  other  nation 
has  been  without  such  sacrifices,  they  have  never  been  a 
part  of  the  worship  sanctioned  by  divine  revelation. 

SECTION  XIX.  —  Nahor. 
CHAP.  xxn. 


20.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  after 
these  things,  tliat  it  was  told  Abra- 
ham, saying.  Behold,  Milcah,  she 
hath  also  borne  children  unto  thy 
brother  Nahor: 

21.  Huz  his  firstborn,  and  Buz 
his  brother,  and  Kemuel  the  father 
of  Aram, 

22.  And  Chesed,  and  Hazo,  and 


Pildash,  and  Jidlaph,  and  Beth- 
uel. 

23.  And  Bethuel  begat  Rebekah: 
these  eight  Milcah  did  bear  to  Na- 
hor, Abraham's  brother. 

24.  And  his  concubine,  whose 
name  was  Reumah,  she  bare  also 
Tebah,  and  Gaham,  and  Thahash, 
and  Maachah. 


509.  Aram,  grandson  of  Nahor,  evidently  gave  name 
to  the  country  where  Nahor  resided,  called  Padan  Aram ; 
and  the  people  are  called  Arameans,  rendered  in  our 
translation  Syrians.  Even  Nahor  is  called  an  Aramean 
or  Syrian,  though  the  name  w^as  derived  from  his  grand- 
son. 

Bethuel  begat  Rebekah  who  afterwards  became  the  wife 
of  Isaac. 

Nahor,  it  appears,  had  a  concubine  as  well  as  his  broth- 
er Abraham,  though  no  reason  for  this  is  given,  as  is 
done  in  the  other  instance. 


ABRAHAM   AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


273 


SECTION    XX.  — Death  and  Burial  of  Sarah. 


CHAP.  xxin. 


1.  And  Sarah  was  a  hundred  and 
seven  and  twenty  years  old:  these 
were  the  years  of  the  life  of  Sarah. 

2.  And  Sarah  died  in  Kirjath- 
arba;  the  same  is  Hebron  in  the 
land  of  Canaan:  and  Abraham 
came  to  mourn  for  Sarah,  and  to 
weep  for  her. 

3.  IT  And  Abraham  stood  up 
from  before  his  dead,  and  spake 
unto  the  sons  of  Heth,  saying, 

4.  I  am  a  stranger  and  a  so- 
journer with  you :  give  me  a  pos- 
session of  a  burying-place  with 
you,  that  I  may  bury  my  dead  out 
of  my  sight. 

5.  And  the  children  of  Heth 
answered  Abraham,  saying  unto 
him, 

6.  Hear  us,  my  lord:  thou  art  a 
mighty  prince  among  us:  in  the 
choice  of  our  sepulchres  bury  thy 
dead;  none  of  us  shall  withhold 
from  thee  his  sepulchre,  but  that 
thou  mayest  bury  thy  dead. 

7.  And  Abraham  stood  up,  and 
bowed  himself  to  the  people  of  the 
land,  even  to  the  children  of  Heth. 

8.  And  he  communed  with  them, 
saying.  If  it  be  your  mind  that  I 
should  bury  my  dead  out  of  my 
sight;  hear  me,  and  entreat  for  me 
to  Ephron  the  son  of  Zohar. 

9.  That  he  may  give  me  the  cave 
of  Machpelah,  which  he  hath, 
which  is  in  the  end  of  his  field ;  for 
as  much  money  as  it  is  worth  he 
shall  give  it  me  for  a  possession  of 
a  burying-place  among  you. 

10.  And  Ephron  dwelt  among 
the  children  of  Heth ;  and  Ephron 
the  Hittite  answered  Abraham  in 
the  audience  of  the  children  of 
Heth,  even  of  all  that  went  in  at 
the  gate  of  his  city,  saying, 

11.  Nay,  my  lord,  hear  me:  the 
field  give  I  thee,  and  the  cave  that 

12* 


is  therein,  I  give  it  thee;  in  the 
presence  of  the  sons  of  my  people 
give  I  it  thee:  bury  thy  dead. 

12.  And  Abraham  bowed  down 
himself  before  the  people  of  the 
land. 

13.  And  he  spake  unto  Ephron 
in  the  audience  of  the  people  of  the 
land,  saying.  But  if  thou  ivilt  give 
it,  I  pray  thee,  hear  me:  I  will  give 
tijee  money  for  the  field;  take  it  of 
me,  and  I  will  bury  my  dead  there. 

14.  And  Ephron  answered  Abra- 
ham, saying  unto  him, 

15.  My  lord,  hearken  unt(j>  me; 
the  land  is  worth  four  hundred 
shekels  of  silver ;  what  is  that  be- 
twixt me  and  thee  ?  bury  therefore 
thy  dead. 

16  And  Abraham  hearkened  un  • 
to  Ephron ;  and  Abraham  weighed 
to  Ephron  the  silver,  which  he  had 
named  in  the  audience  of  the  sons 
of  Heth,  four  hundred  shekels  of 
silver,  current  money  with  the  mer- 
chant. 

17.  And  the  field  of  Ephron, 
which  was  in  Machpelah,  which 
was  before  Mamre,  the  field,  and 
the  cave  which  was  therein ,  and  all 
the  trees  that  were  in  the  field ,  that 
were  in  all  the  borders  round 
about,  were  made  sure 

18.  Unto  Abraham  for  a  posses- 
sion in  the  presence  of  the  children 
of  Heth,  before  all  that  went  m  at 
the  gate  of  his  city. 

19.  IT  And  after  this,  Abraham 
buried  Sarah  his  wife  in  the  cave  of 
the  field  of  Machpelah  before  Mam- 
re :  the  same  is  Hebron  in  the  land 
of  Canaan. 

20.  And  the  field,  and  the  cave 
that  is  therein,  were  made  sure  un- 
to Abraham  for  a  possession  of 
a  burying-place  by  tbe  sons  of 
Heth. 


274  ABRAHAM   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 

510.  It  seems  that  Mamre,  Hebron,  and  Kirjath-arba, 
were  different  names  of  the  same  place.  Abraham  is 
called  a  stranger  and  a  sojourner  in  the  land,  though  he 
had  been  in  Canaan  more  than  lii'ty  years.  The  language 
is  used  comparatively.  The  sons  of  Heth  had  been  there 
much  longer,  and  were  indeed  the  original  settlers  of  the 
country.  It  is  further  evident  that  the  land  did  not  be- 
long  to  the  patriarch  or  his  posterity,  and  became  his 
afterwards,  by  gift  from  God,  who  has  a  rightful  claim  to 
the  whole  earth. 

511.  The  generous  conduct  of  the  sons  of  Heth,  and 
of  Ephron  in  particular,  is  worthy  of  special  notice.  And 
the  truthfulness  of  the  narrative  is  made  obvious  by  this 
and  other  examples,  where  the  generous  virtues  of  others 
that  were  not  of  the  tribe  of  Abraham,  are  freely  record- 
ed. To  the  same  effect  are  the  recorded  instances  of  the 
faults  of  the  patriarchs,  with  no  excuse  or  palliation. 

512.  The  unwillingness  of  Abraham  to  receive  the  field 
of  Machpelah  as  a  gift  may  be  interpreted  as  showing  a 
desire  to  keep  himself,  as  much  as  possible,  separate  and 
distinct  from  the  people  of  the  land,  who,  he  plainly 
foresaw,  as  indicated  to  him  by  the  divine  assurance  that 
their  land  would  be  his,  would  become  his  enemies.  His 
imwillingness  to  be  in  any  way  allied  to  the  people  of  the 
land,  as  shown  in  several  instances,  may  be  referred,  in 
part  if  not  altogether,  to  the  same  cause. 

For  many  of  the  allusions  in  this  passage,  viz.,  Real 
Estate  possessions.  Money,  Mode  of  burials,  &c  ,  See 
Archaeology. 


ABRAHAM  AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


275 


SECTION  XXI.— A  Wife  procured  for  Isaac. 


CHAP.  XXIV. 


1.  And  Abraham  was  old,  and 
well  stricken  in  age :  and  the  Lord 
had  blessed  Abraham  in  all  things. 

2.  And  Abraham  said  unto  his 
eldest  servant  of  his  house,  that 
ruled  over  all  that  he  had,  Put,  I 
pray  thee,  thy  hand  under  my 
thigh: 

3.  And  I  wiU  make  thee  swear 
by  the  Lord,  the  God  of  heaven, 
and  the  God  of  the  earth,  that 
thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife  unto  my 
son  of  the  daughters  of  the  Ca- 
naanites,  among  whom  I  dwell: 

4.  But  thou  shalt  go  unto  my 
country,  and  to  my  kindred,  and 
take  a  wife  unto  my  son  Isaac. 

5.  And  the  servant  said  unto 
him,  Peradventure  the  woman  will 
not  be  willing  to  follow  me  unto 
this  land :  must  I  needs  bring  thy 
son  again  unto  the  land  from 
whence  thou  camest  ? 

6.  And  Abraham  said  unto  him. 
Beware  thou  that  thou  bring  not 
my  son  thither  again. 

7.  The  Lord  God  of  heaven, 
which  took  me  from  my  father's 
house,  and  from  the  land  of  my 
kindred,  and  which  spake  unto 
me,  and  that  sware  unto  me,  say- 
ing. Unto  thy  seed  will  I  give  this 
land ;  he  shall  send  his  angel  before 
thee,  and  thou  shalt  take  a  wife 
unto  my  son  from  thence. 

8.  And  if  the  woman  will  not  be 
willing  to  follow  thee,  then  thou 
shalt  be  clear  from  this  my  oath: 
only  bring  not  my  son  thither 
again. 

9.  And  the  servant  put  his  hand 
under  the  thigh  of  Abraham  his 
master,  and  sware  to  him  concern- 
ing that  matter. 

10.  nr  And  the  servant  took  ten 
camels  of  the  camels  of  his  master, 
and  departed ;  for  all  the  goods  of 
his  master  were  in  his  hand:  and  he 
arose,  and  went  to  Mesopotamia, 
unto  the  city  of  Nahor. 


11.  And  he  made  his  camels  to 
kneel  down  without  the  city  by  a 
well  of  water  at  the  time  of  the 
evening,  even  the  time  that  women 
go  out  to  draw  water. 

12.  And  he  said,  0  Lord  God  of 
my  master  Abraham,  I  pray  thee, 
send  me  good  speed  this  day,  and 
shew  kindness  unto  my  master 
Abraham. 

13.  Behold,  I  stand  here  by  the 
well  of  water;  and  the  daughters 
of  the  men  of  the  city  come  out  to 
draw  water: 

14.  And  let  it  come  to  pass,  that 
the  damsel  to  whom  I  shall  say, 
Let  down  thy  pitcher,  I  pray  thee, 
that  I  may  drink;  and  she  shall 
say.  Drink,  and  I  will  give  thy 
camels  drink  also:  let  the  same  be 
she  that  thou  hast  appointed  for 
thy  servant  Isaac;  and  thereby 
shall  I  know  that  thou  hast  shewed 
kindness  unto  my  master. 

15.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass,  be- 
fore he  had  done  speaking,  that, 
behold,  Rebekah  came  out,  who 
was  born  to  Bethuel ,  son  of  Mil- 
cah,  the  wife  of  Nahor,  Abraham's 
brother,  with  her  pitcher  upon  her 
shoulder. 

16.  And  the  damsel  icas  very 
fair  to  look  upon ,  a  virgin ;  neither 
had  any  man  known  her:  and  she 
went  down  to  the  well,  and  filled 
her  pitcher,  and  came  up. 

17.  And  the  servant  ran  to  meet 
her,  and  said,  Let  me,  I  pray  thee, 
drink  a  little  water  of  thy  pitcher. 

18.  And  she  said.  Drink,  my 
lord:  and  she  hasted,  and  let  down 
her  pitcher  upon  her  hand,  and 
gave  him  drink. 

19.  And  when  she  had  done  giv- 
ing him  drink,  she  said,  I  will 
draw  water  for  thy  camels  also, 
until  they  have  done  drinking. 

20.  And  she  hasted,  and  emptied 
her  pitcher  into  the  trough,  and 
ran  again  unto  the  well  to  draw 


276 


ABRAHAM    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


water,  and  drew  for  all  his  camels. 

21.  And  the  man  wondering  at 
her  held  his  peace,  to  wit  whether 
the  Lord  had  made  his  journey 
prosperous  or  not. 

22.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  the 
camels  had  done  drinking,  that  the 
man  took  a  golden  earring  of  half 
a  shekel  weight,  and  two  bracelets 
for  her  hands  of  ten  shekels  weight 
of  gold; 

23.  And  said,  Whose  daughter 
art  thou  ?  tell  me,  I  pray  thee:  is 
there  room  in  thy  father's  house 
for  us  to  lodge  in  ? 

24.  And  she  said  unto  him,  lam 
the  daughter  of  Bethuel  the  son  of  ! 
Mile  ah,  which  she  bare  unto  Na- 
hor. 

25.  She  said  moreover  unto  him , 
We  have  both  straw  and  provender 
enough,  and  room  to  lodge  in. 

26.  And  the  man  bowed  down 
his  head,  and  worshipped  the  Lord. 

27.  And  he  said,  Blessed  be  the 
Lord  God  of  my  master  Abraham , 
who  hath  not  left  destitute  my 
master  of  his  mercy  and  his  truth: 
I  being  in  the  way,  the  Lord  led 
me  to  the  house  of  my  master's 
brethren. 

28.  And  the  damsel  ran,  and 
told  them  of  her  mother's  house 
these  things. 

29.  IT  And  Rebekah  had  a  bro- 
ther, and  his  name  ivas  Laban: 
and  Laban  ran  out  unto  the  man, 
unto  the  well. 

30.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
he  saw  the  earring,  and  bracelets 
npon.his  sister's  hands,  and  when 
lie  heard  the  Avords  of  Rebekah  his 
sister,  saying,  Thus  spake  the  man 
unto  me;  that  he  came  unto  the 
man,  and  behold,  he  stood  by  the 
camels  at  the  well. 

3L  And  he  said,  Come  in,  thou 
blessed  of  the  Lord;  wherefoi'e 
standest  thou  without?  for  I  have 
prei>ared  the  house,  and  room  for 
the  camels. 

32.  And  the  man  came  into  the 
house:  and  he  ungirded  his  camels, 
and  gave  straw  and  provender  for 
the  camels,  and  water  to  wash  his 


feet,  and  the  men's  feet  that  were 
with  him. 

33.  And  there  was  set  meat  be- 
fore him  to  eat:  but  he  said ,  I  will 
not  eat,  until  I  have  told  mine 
errand.     And  he  said,  Speak  on. 

34.  And  he  said,  I  a7ii  Abra- 
ham's servant. 

35.  And  the  Lord  hath  blessed 
my  master  greatly ,  and  he  is  be- 
come gi-eat:  and  he  hath  given  hint 
flocks,  and  herds,  and  silver,  and 
gold,  and  men-servants,  and  maid- 
servants, and  camels,  and  asses. 

36.  And  Sarah  my  matter's  wife 
bare  a  son  to  my  master  when  sho 
was  old:  and  unto  him  hath  he 
given  all  that  he  hath. 

37.  And  my  master  made  me 
swear,  saying.  Thou  shaltnot  take 
a  wife  to  my  son  of  the  daughters 
of  the  Canaanites,  in  whose  land  1 
dwell: 

38.  But  thou  shalt  go  unto  my 
father's  house,  and  to  my  kindred, 
and  take  a  wife  unto  my  son. 

39.  And  I  said  unto  my  master, 
Peradventure  the  woman  will  not 
follow  me. 

40.  And  he  said  unto  me,  The 
Lord,  before  whom  I  walk,  will 
send  his  angel  with  thee,  and  pros- 
per thy  way ;  and  thou  shalt  take  a 
wife  for  my  son  of  my  kindred, 
and  of  my  father's  house: 

41.  Then  shalt  thou  be  clear  from 
this  my  oath,  when  thou  comest  to 
my  kindred ;  and  if  they  give  not 
thee  one,  thou  shalt  be  clear  from 
my  oath. 

42.  And  I  came  this  day  unto 
the  well,  and  said,  0  Lord  God  of 
my  master  Abraham,  if  now  thou 
do  prosper  my  way  which  I  go: 

43.  Behold,  I  stand  by  the  well 
of -water;  and  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
that  when  the  virgin  cometh  forth 
to  draw  water,  and  I  say  to  her. 
Give  me,  I  pray  thee,  a  little  water 
of  thy  pitcher  to  drink : 

44.  And  she  say  to  me,  Both 
drink  thou,  and  I  will  also  draw 
for  thy  camels:  let  the  same  be  the 
woman  whom  the  Lord  hath  ap- 
pointed out  for  my  master's  son. 


ABRAHAM   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


277 


45.  And  before  I  had  done  speak- 
ing in  mine  heart,  behold,  Rebekah 
came  tbrth  with  her  pitcher  on  her 
shoulder ;  and  she  went  down  unto 
the  well,  and  drew  water :  and  I 
said  unto  her.  Let  me  di'ink,  I  pray 
thee. 

46.  And  she  made  haste,  and  let 
down  her  pitcher  from  her  shoulder, 
and  said.  Drink,  and  I  will  give 
thy  camels  drink  also:  so  I  drank, 
and  she  made  the  camels  drink  also. 

47.  And  I  asked  her,  and  said, 
Whose  daughter  art  thou?  And 
she  said,  The  daughter  of  Bethuel, 
Nahor's  son,  whom  Milcah  bare 
unto  him:  and  I  put  the  earring 
upon  her  face,  and  the  bracelets 
upon  her  hands. 

48.  And  I  bowed  down  my  head, 
and  worshipped  the  Lord,  and 
blessed  the  Lord  God  of  my  mas- 
ter Abraham,  which  had  led  me  in 
the  right  way  to  take  my  master's 
brother's  daughter  unto  his  son. 

49.  And  now  if  ye  will  deal  kind- 
ly and  truly  with  my  master,  tell 
me:  and  if  not,  tell  me;  that  I  may 
turn  to  the  right  hand,  or  to  the 
left. 

50.  Then  Laban  and  Bethuel  an- 
swered and  said,  The  thing  pro- 
ceedeth  from  the  Lord:  we  cannot 
ripeak  unto  thee  bad  or  good. 

51.  Behold,  Rebekah  is  before 
thee,  take  her,  and  go,  and  let  her 
be  thy  master's  son's  wife,  as  the 
Lord  hath  spoken. 

52.  And  it  came  to  pass,  that, 
when  Abraham's  servant  heard 
their  words,  he  worshipped  the 
Lord,  bowing  himself  to  the  earth. 

53.  And  the  servant  brought 
forth  jewels  of  silver,  and  jewels  of 
gold,  and  raiment,  and  gave  them 
to  Rebekah:  he  gave  also  to  her 
brother  and  to  her  mother  precious 
things. 

54.  IT  And  they  did  eat  and 
drink,  he  and  the  men  that  icere 
with  him,  and  tarried  all  night; 
and  they  rose  up  in  the  morning, 
and  he  said.  Send  me  away  unto 
my  master. 


55.  And  her  brother  and  her 
mother  said.  Let  the  damsel  abide 
with  us  a  Jew  days,  at  the  least 
ten ;  after  that  she  shall  go. 

56.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Hin- 
der me  not,  seeing  the  Lord  hath 
prospered  my  way;  send  me  away 
that  I  may  go  to  my  master. 

57.  And  they  said.  We  will  call 
the  damsel,  and  inquire  at  her 
mouth. 

58.  And  they  called  Rebekah, 
and  said  unto  her.  Wilt  thou  go 
with  this  man  ?  And  she  said  I  will 
go. 

59.  And  they  sent  away  Rebe- 
kah their  sister,  and  her  nurse,  and 
Abraham's  servant,  and  his  men. 

60.  And  they  blessed  Rebekah, 
and  said  unto  her.  Thou  art  our 
sister,  be  thou  the  mother  of  thou- 
sands of  millions,  and  let  thy  seed 
possess  the  gate  of  those  which  hate 
them. 

61.  IT  And  Rebekah  arose,  and 
her  damsels,  and  they  rode  upon 
the  camels,  and  followed  the  man: 
and  the  servant  took  Rebekah,  and 
went  his  way. 

62.  And  Isaac  came  from  the 
way  of  the  well  Lahairoi;  for  he 
dwelt  in  the  south  country. 

63.  And  Isaac  went  out  to  medi- 
tate in  the  field  at  the  eventide: 
and  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  saw, 
and  behold,  the  camels  were  com- 
ing. 

64.  And  Rebekah  lifted  up  her 
eyes,  and  when  she  saw  Isaac,  she 
lighted  off  the  camel. 

65.  For  she  had  said  unto  the 
servant.  What  man  is  this  that 
walketh  in  the  field  to  meet  us? 
And  the  servant  had  said.  It  is  my 
master:  therefore  she  took  a  vail, 
and  covered  herself 

66.  And  the  servant  told  Isaae 
all  things  that  he  had  done. 

67.  And  Isaac  brought  her  into 
his  mother  Sarah's  tent,  and  took 
Rebekah,  and  she  became  his  wife; 
and  he  loved  her:  and  Isaac 
was  comforted  after  his  mother's 
death. 


278  ABRAHAM   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 

513.  The  important  trust  committed  to  the  eldest  ser- 
vant of  Abraham  shows,  both  the  position  of  servants  in 
those  days,  and  the  confidence  placed  by  Abraham  in  this 
one  in  particular.  The  whole  narrative,  laying  before  us 
the  servant's  mission,  is  related  with  great  simplicity,  and 
has  every  mark  of  truthfulness.  It  shows  clearly  a  primi- 
tive state  of  society,  when  hospitality  and  simple  honesty 
were  the  prevailing  traits  of  human  character.  The  mode 
of  obtaining  wives,  here  indicated,  can  the  more  readily 
be  received  as  true,  from  its  resemblance  to  what  we 
know  to  have  existed  among  other  nations  in  their  primi- 
tive state.  The  manner  in  which  the  servant's  prayer  was 
verified,  is  to  be  understood  as  a  remarkable  providence. 
It  is  evident  from  the  circumstances  that  there  were  sev- 
eral damsels  at  the  well,  and  the  choice  of  one  of  them 
from  the  rest,  was  made  by  the  servant  himself ;  and  his 
prayer  was  that  he  might  select  one  suitable  for  the  wife 
of  Isaac.  He  made  his  choice,  and  it  turned  out  to  be 
a  judicious  and  satisfactory  one. 

SECTION  XXII.— Abraham's  Second  Marriage. 

CHAP.  XXV. 
1.  Then  again  Abraham  took  a    and  Abidah,  and  Eldaah.    All  these 


wife,  and  her  name  was  Keturah, 

2.  And  she  bare  him  Zimran, 
and  .Jokshan,  and  Medan,  and  Mi- 
dian,  and  Ishbak,  and  Shuah. 

3.  And  Jokshan  begat  Sheba, 
and  Dedan.  And  the  sons  of  De- 
dan  were  Asshurim,  and  Letushim, 
and  Leummim. 

4.  And  the  sons  of  Midian; 
Ephah,  and  Epher,  and  Hanoch, 


were  the  children  of  Keturah. 

5.  IT  And  Abraham  gave  all  that 
he  had  unto  Isaac. 

6.  But  unto  the  sons  of  the  con- 
cubines, which  Abraham  had, 
Abraham  gave  gifts,  and  sent  them 
away  from  Isaac  his  son,  (while  he 
yet  lived,)  eastward,  unto  the  east 
country. 


514.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  sons  of  the  second 
wife,  were  treated  in  the  same  manner,  as  the  son  of  the 
concubine  ;  and  Isaac  is  made  the  sole  heir  to  Abraham's 
estate.  Thus  the  right  of  primogeniture  receives  the 
sanction  of  the  patriarch.  May  we  not  add  that  it  received 
the  divine  sanction  long  before,  when  the  right  to  rule 
over  his  brother,  was  given  to  Cain,  the  first  born  son  of 
Adam  ?  We  know  that  it  subsequently  became  one  of  the 
patriarchal  institutions. 


ABRAHAM  AND   HIS   FAMILY.  279 


SECTION  XXIIL— Death  of  Abraham. 

CHAP.  XXV. 

7.  IT  And  these  are  the  days  of  |  the  son  of  Zohar  the  Hittite,  which 


the  years  of  Abraham's  life  which 
he  lived,  an  hundred  three  score 
and  fifteen  years. 

8.  Then  Abraham  gave  up  the 
ghost,  and  died  in  a  good  old  age, 
an  old  man,  and  full  of  years;  and 
was  gathered  to  his  people. 

9.  And  his  sons  Isaac  and  Ish- 
mael  buried  him  in  the  cave  of 
Machpelah,  in  the  field  of  Ephron 


is  before  Mamre; 

10.  The  field  which  Abraham 
purchased  of  the  sons  of  Heth: 
there  was  Abraham  buried,  and 
Sarah  his  wife. 

11.  And  it  came  to  pass  after 
the  death  of  Abraham,  that  God 
blessed  his  son  Isaac;  and  Isaac 
dwelt  by  the  well  Lahairoi. 


515.  Abraham  lived  to  be  a  hundred  and  seventy-five 
years  old,  and  died  thirty-eight  years  after  the  death  of 
Sarah.  Both  were  buried  together  in  the  cave  of  Mach- 
pelah  near  Hebron.  Isaac  and  Ishmael,  unlike  as  they 
were  in  their  maternal  parentage,  and  unlike  as  they 
were  to  be  in  the  future  history  of  their  descendants ; 
being  both  sons  and  no  doubt  affectionate  sons  of  the 
patriarch,  joined  in  the  last  tribute  of  respect  to  their  de- 
parted parent. 

516.  That  Abraham  "  was  gathered  to  his  people  ^' 
at  the  time  he  died,  we  take  to  be  evidence  that  a  future 
life,  and  a  re-union  of  friends  there,  were  believed  in  by 
the  ancient  Hebrews. 

517.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  when  Rebekah  was 
brought  to  Isaac,  he  dwelt  by  the  well  La-hai-roi,  which 
is  said  to  be  in  the  south  country,  xxiv.  62,  xxv.  11. 
Observe  that  the  well  near  which  Hagar  was  found,  the 
first  time  she  left  her  mistress,  was  called  Beer-lahai-roi, 
xvi.  14.  It  is  said  further,  that  she  was  found  in  the 
wilderness,  in  the  way  of  Shur,  xvi.  1.  It  is  said,  too, 
of  the  children  of  Ishmael,  that  they  dwelt  from  Havilah 
to  Shur.  All  these  statements  together,  show  that  Ish- 
mael and  Isaac  resided,  at  least  for  a  time,  not  far  apart, 
a  circumstance  that  will  show  the  reason  why  both  were 
together  at  the  burial  of  their  father,  at  the  same  time 
that  it  indicates  no  unfriendly  feeling  between  the  two 
brothers. 


280 


ABRAHAM   AND   HIS    FAMILY. 


SECTION    XXIV.  —  ISHMAEL  AND  HIS  FaMILY. 


CHAP.  XXV. 


12.  IT  Now  these  are.  the  genera- 
tions of  Ishmael,  Abraham's  son, 
whom  Hagar  the  Egyptian,  Sarah's 
handmaid,  bare  unto  Abraham. 

13.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  sons  of  Ishmael,  by  their  names, 
according  to  their  generations ;  the 
first-born  of  Ishmael,  Xebajoth  ; 
and  Kedar,  and  Adbeel,  and  Mib- 
sam. 

14.  And  Mishma,  and  Dumah, 
and  Massa, 

15.  Hadar,  and  Tema,  Jetur, 
Naphish,  and  Kedemah : 


16.  These  are  the  sons  of  Ishmael, 
and  these  are  their  names,  by  their 
towns,  and  by  their  castles;  twelve 
princes  according  to  their  nations. 

17.  And  these  are  the  years  of 
the  life  of  Ishmael,  an  hundred  and 
thirty  and  seven  years :  and  he  gave 
up  the  ghost,  and  died,  and  was 
gathered  unto  his  people. 

18.  And  they  dwelt  from  Havilah 
unto  Shur,  that  is  before  Egypt, 
as  thou  goest  towards  Assyria \  and 
he  died  in  the  presence  of  all  his 
brethren. 


518.  The  name  of  Ishmael  was  given  to  him  before 
his  birth.  The  sons  of  Ishmael  were  twelve  in  number, 
as  had  been  foretold  ;  and  they  became  very  numerous 
and  powerful  as  had  been  promised  to  Abram  and  to  Ha- 
gar. Their  dwelling  was  from  Shur,  before  or  near  to 
Egypt,  unto  Havilah  on  the  Assyrian  route  :  and  though 
we  do  not  know  the  exact  extent  of  the  country  here  al- 
luded to,  we  know,  from  the  circumstances,  that  it  was 
quite  considerable,     xvi.  11  ;  xvii.  20;  xvi.  10. 

519.  It  was  said  of  Ishmael,  xvi.  12,  "  he  shall  dwell 
in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren  :  "  and  now  we  are 
told  that  "  he  died  in  the  presence  of  all  his  brethren  "  ; 
the  meaning  of  which  is,  that,  though  his  hand  was 
against  every  man,  and  every  man's  hand  against  him, 
he  was  too  powerful  to  be  overcome,  both  during  his  life 
and  at  the  time  of  his  death.  It  is  generally  believed 
that  the  Arabs  are  the  descendants  of  Ishmael  ;  and 
in  them  we  find  the  character  of  their  illustrious  progen- 
itor. 


ISAAC   AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


281 


CHAPTER  XIV. 


ISAAC  AND  HIS   FAMILY. 


Contents. — Birth  of  Esau  and  Jacob;  Sale  of  Birthright;  So- 
journ in  Gerar  ;  Removal  to  Beersheba  ;  Isaac's  Blessing ;  Esau 
and  Family ;  Sier. 

The  birth  of  Isaac,  his  being  offered  in  sacrifice,  the 
procuring  for  him  a  wife,  &c.,  have  all  been  recorded  and 
commented  upon  in  that  part  of  the  book  that  relates  to 
Abram  and  his  family.  The  narrative  proceeds  as  fol- 
lows : — 

SECTION  I.  —  Birth  of  Esau  and  Jacob. 


CHAP. 

19.  IT  And  these  are  the  genera- 
tions of  Isaac,  Abraham's  son; 
Abraham  begat  Isaac : 

20.  And  Isaac  was  forty  years 
old  when  he  took  Rebekati  to  wife, 
the  daughter  of  Bethuelthe  Syrian 
of  Padan-aram,the  sister  to  Laban 
the  Syrian. 

21.  IT  And  Isaac  entreated  the 
Lord  for  his  wife,  because  she  ivas 
barren:  and  the  Lord  was  entreat- 
ed of  him,  and  Rebekah  his  wife 
conceived. 

22.  And  the  children  struggled 
together  within  her;  and  she  said, 
If  it  be  so,  why  am  I  thus?  And 
she  went  to  inquire  of  the  Lord. 

23.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  her, 


XXV. 

Two  nations  are  in  thy  womb,  and 
two  manner  of  people  shall  be  sep- 
arated from  thy  bowels;  and  the  one 
people  shall  be  stronger  than  the 
other  people;  and  the  elder  shall 
serve  the  younger. 

24.  And  when  her  days  to  be  de- 
livered were  fulfilled,  behold,  there 
were  twins  in  her  womb. 

2§.  And  the  iirst  came  out  red, 
all  over  like  an  hairy  garment ;  and 
they  called  his  name  Esau. 

26.  And  after  that  came  his  bro- 
ther out,  and  his  hand  took  hold 
on  Esau's  heel;  and  his  name  was 
called  Jacob :  and  Isaac  was  three- 
score years  old,  when  she  bare 
them. 


520.  The  cause  of  the  difference,  at  their  birth,  between 
Esau  and  Jacob,  is  not  given,  nor  can  it  be  inferred  from 
the  circumstances.  The  fact,  however,  may  be  made  in- 
structive as  illustrating  a  principle  that  may  help  us  to 
account  for  other  differences  among  men  that  have  come 
up  since  that  time.  Indeed  many  of  the  peculiarities  by 
which  different  branches  of  the  human  race,  are  distin- 
guished, may  have  had  the  same  origin.  There  is  no 
doubt  that  great  diversities  among  men  have  originated 


282 


ISAAC   AND    HIS  FAMILY. 


in  this  way  ;  and  when  once  started,  there  is  a  strong  ten- 
dency to  permanency,  though  nature  may  at  last  resume 
her  accustomed  course. 


SECTION  II.  —  Esau  Sells  his  Birthright. 


CHAP.  XXV. 


27.  And  the  boys  gre-vr :  and  Esau 
was  a  cunning  hunter,  a  man  of 
the  field ;  and  Jacob  was  a  plain 
man,  dwelling  in  tents. 

28.  And  Isaac  loved  Esau,  be- 
cause he  did  eat  of  his  venison ;  but 
Rebekah  loved  Jacob. 

29.  IT  And  Jacob  sod  pottage  ; 
and  Esau  came  from  the  field,  and 
he  was  faint. 

30.  And  Esau  said  to  Jacob,  Feed 
me,  I  pray  thee ,  with  that  same  red 
pottage;  for  I  am  faint :  therefore 
was  his  name  called  Edom. 


31.  And  Jacob  said,  Sell  me  this 
day  thy  birth-right. 

32.  And  Esau  said,  Behold,  lam 
at  the  point  to  die,  and  what  profit 
shall  this  birth-right  do  to  me  ? 

33.  And  Jacob  said,  Swear  to  me 
this  day ;  and  he  sware  unto  him ; 
and  he  sold  his  birth-right  unto 
Jacob. 

34.  Then  Jacob  gave  Esau  bread 
and  pottage  of  lentiles,  and  he  did 
eat  and  drink,  and  rose  up,  and 
went  his  way.  Thus  Esau  despised 
his  birth-right. 


521.  This  transaction  has  been  made  to  reflect  very 
unfavorably  upon  the  conduct  of  Jacob.  He  should  not, 
it  is  said,  have  taken  advantage  of  his  brother's  necessi- 
ties, so  as  to  procure  a  valuable  object  to  which  he  was 
not  otherwise  entitled.  But  the  narrative  plainly  implies 
that  Esau  did  not  regard  the  birthright  as  a  valuable  pos- 
session. The  language  "  he  despised  his  birthright," 
evidently  conveys  this  idea.  It  does  not  appear  that 
Jacob  refused  his  brother  food,  nor  that  Esau  must  have 
perished  if  Jacob  had  not  supplied  his  wants.  If  this 
were  so,  then  the  language,  "he  despised  his  birthright,'^ 
is  out  of  place.  A  man  does  not  give  evidence  of  despis- 
ing a  thing,  or  placing  a  small  value  upon  it,  when  he  parts 
with  it  to  save  his  life.  The  intention  of  the  passage  is 
to  show  that  Esau  regarded  the  birthright  as  of  little 
value,  and  therefore  parted  with  it  for  a  small  considera- 
tion. Jacob,  however,  thought  differently  ;  and  surely 
there  was  no  wrong  in  receiving  from  his  brother,  what 
the  latter  deemed  of  little  consequence. 

522.  It  may  be  well  to  ask  here  what  value  there  really 
was  in  the  birthright  ? 


ISAAC   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


283 


It  appears  from  what  is  said  of  Cain  and  Abel,  that  one 
privilege  enjoyed  by  the  first-born,was  that  of  pre-eminence 
over  the  rest  of  the  iamily.  Cain  was  to  rule  over  his 
brother.  The  conduct  of  Abraham  would  lead  us  to  infer 
that  the  first-born  was  heir  to  the  estate  of  his  father, 
while  others  only  received  gifts  and  were  sent  away. 
XXV.  6.  From  other  references  that  will  be  considered 
hereafter,  it  becomes  obvious  that  the  dying  blessing  of 
the  patriarch,  upon  the  first-born,  was  expected  to  be 
fraught  with  greater  good,  than  upon  the  other  children. 
Esau  seems  to  make  a  distinction  between  the  blessing  and 
the  birthright,  xxvii,  36;  but  this  may  have  been  only 
a  pretence,  and  intended  to  justify  himself,  in  seeking 
to  appropriate  to  himself  what  he  had  parted  with,  and 
what  he  now  could  not  justly  claim. 

SECTION  III.— Isaac's  Sojourn  in  Gerar. 


CHAP.  XXVI. 


1.  And  there  was  a  famine  in  the 
land,  besides  the  first  famine  that 
was  in  the  days  of  Abraham.  And 
Isaac  went  nnto  Abimelech  king  of 
the  Philistines  unto  Gerar. 

2.  And  the  Lord  appeared  unto 
him,  and  said.  Go  not  down  into 
Egypt ;  dwell  in  the  land  which  I 
shall  tell  thee  of: 

3.  Sojourn  in  this  land,  and  I 
will  be  with  thee,  and  will  bless 
thee;  for  unto  thee,  and  unto  thy 
seed,!  will  give  all  these  countries, 
and  I  will  perform  the  oath  which 
I  sware  unto  Abraham  thy  father; 

4.  And  I  will  make  thy  seed  to 
multiply  as  the  stars  of  heaven, 
and  will  give  unto  thy  seed  all 
these  countries;  and  in  thy  seed 
shall  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  be 
blessed ; 

5.  Because  that  Abraham  obeyed 
my  voice,  and  kept  my  charge,  my 
commandments,  my  statutes,  and 
my  laws. 

6.  IT  And  Isaac  dwelt  in  Gerar: 

7.  And  the  men  of  the  place 
asked  him  of  his  wife;  and  he  said, 
She  is  my  sister :  for  he  feared  to 


say,  She  is  my  wife;  lest,  said  he, 
the  men  of  the  place  should  kill 
me  for  Rebekah ;  because  she  was 
fair  to  look  upon. 

8.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when  he 
had  been  there  a  long  time,  that 
Abimelech  king  of  the  Philistines 
looked  out  at  a  window,  and  saw, 
and  behold,  Isaac  was  sporting 
with  Rebekah  his  wife. 

9.  And  Abimelech  called  Isaac, 
and  said.  Behold,  of  a  surety  she 
is  thy  wife:  and  how  saidst  thou, 
She  is  my  sister  ?  And  Isaac  said 
unto  him,  Because  I  said.  Lest  I 
die  for  her. 

10.  And  Abimelech  said.  What  is 
this  thou  hast  done  unto  us?  one 
of  the  people  might  lightly  have 
lain  with  thy  wife,  and  thou  should- 
est  have  brought  guiltiness  upon  us. 

11.  And  Abimelech  charged  all 
his  people,  saying.  He  that  touch- 
eth  this  man  or  his  wife  shall 
surely  be  put  to  death. 

12.  Then  Isaac  sowed  in  that 
land,  and  received  in  the  same 
year  a  hundredfold :  and  the  Lord 
blessed  him. 


284 


ISAAC   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


13.  And  the  man  waxed  great, 
and  -went  forward,  and  gre^w  until 
he  became  very  great. 

14.  For  he  had  possession  of 
flocks,  and  possession  of  herds, 
and  great  store  of  servants:  and 
the  Philistines  envied  him. 

15.  For  all  the  wells  which  his 
fixther's  servants  had  digged  in  the 
days  of  Abraham  his  father,  the 
Philistines  had  stopped  them,  and 
filled  them  with  earth. 

16.  And  Abimelech  said  unto 
Isaac,  Go  from  us;  for  thou  art 
much  mightier  than  we. 

17.  And  Isaac  departed  thence, 
and  pitched  his  tent  in  the  valley 
of  Gerar,  and  dwelt  there. 

18.  And  Isaac  digged  again  the 
wells  of  water,  which  they  had 
digged  in  the  days  of  Abraham  his 
father;    for    the    Philistines    had 


stopped  them  after  the  death  of 
Abraham:  and  he  called  their 
names  after  the  names  by  which 
his  father  had  called  them. 

19.  And  Isaac's  servants  digged 
in  the  valley,  and  found  there  a 
well  of  springing  water. 

20.  And  the  herdmen  of  Gerar 
did  strive  with  Isaac's  herdmen, 
saying,  The  water  is  ours:  and  he 
called  the  name  of  the  well  Esek; 
because  they  strove  with  him. 

21.  And  they  digged  another 
well,  and  strove  for  that  also:  and 
he  called  the  name  of  it  Sitnah. 

22.  And  he  removed  from  thence, 
and  digged  another  well;  and  for 
that  they  strove  not:  and  he  called 
the  name  of  it  Rehoboth ;  and  he 
Baid,  For  now  the  Lord  hath  made 
room  for  us,  and  we  shall  be  fruit- 
ful in  the  land. 


523.  The  narrative  seems  to  imply  an  intention  on  the 
part  of  Isaac  to  go  down  to  Egypt,  as  he  expected  he 
could  there  alone  receive  supplies  during  the  famine  :  but 
a  divine  vision  detained  him  in  Gerar,  a  city  of  the  Philis- 
tines. The  Abimelech  here  mentioned  may  have  been 
the  one  that  entertained  Abraham  ;  but  it  is  highly  prob- 
able that  another  of  the  same  name,  perhaps  a  son  of  the 
former,  is  had  in  view.  It  is  not  improbable  that  this  was 
a  common  designation  of  all  the  kings  of  that  country,  as 
Pharaoh  was  of  Egypt,  and  Cassar  was  of  Kome. 

524.  It  appears  that  the  result  of  Abraham's  deception, 
concerning  his  wife,  did  not  deter  his  son  from  doing  the 
same  thing  ;  and  the  result,  with  the  latter,  was  no  more 
fortunate  than  with  the  former.  It  is  quite  probable  that 
there  are  no  circumstances,  when  deception,  for  an}'  pur- 
pose, can  be  justified.  The  narrative  seems  designed  to 
show  us  how  much  better  truth  would  have  answered  the 
purpose,  in  the  case  recorded,  than  falsehood;  and  if  truth 
were  better  then,  it  is  better  now.  Another  purpose  had 
in  view  by  the  narrator,  may  be  to  show,  that,  even  among 
heathens,  there  is  the  consciousness  of  right,  implanted 
in  the  heart  by  the  Creator's  hand. 

525.  Isaac  went  down  to  Gerar,  and  was  expecting  to 
go  on  to  Egypt,  on  account  of  a  famine  ;  but  being  de- 


ISAAC    AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


285 


tained  in  Gerar  by  a  divine  command,  his  wants  are  soon 
supplied  ;  for  he  sowed  the  ground  that  same  year  and 
received  a  hundred  fold,     verse  12. 

The  prosperity  of  the  patriarch  had,  with  the  Philistines, 
its  usual  effect.  They  envied  him.  A  further  result  was, 
that  they  sought  to  injure  him  by  filling  with  earth  the 
wells  that  Abraham  had  digged  while  residing  in  that 
land,  and  to  which  Isaac  had  a  just  claim.  Isaac,  there- 
fore, by  request  of  Abimelech,  left  that  neighborhood,  and 
dwelt  in  the  "  valley  of  Gerar,"  a  place  that  must  have 
been,  from  the  circumstances,  not  far  from  his  former  resi- 
dence. 

526.  It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  what  is  said  in  verse 
18th,  properly  belongs  with  verse  i5th,  and  should  have 
succeeded  it..  The  wells  that  were  filled  up,  and  that 
were  dug  anew,  were  not  in  the  valley  of  Gerar  ;  but  they 
were  in  the  former  locality,  from  which  Isaac  had  now 
removed.  Hence,  it  is  added,  that  now  Isaac's  servants 
digged  in  the  "valley,"  that  is,  the  ''  valley  of  Gerar," 
his  new  residence.  But  envy  follows  the  patriarch 
hither ;  and  a  strife  arises  about  this  well.  Another 
is  dug  with  the  same  result.  Isaac  now  removes  still 
farther  away,  and  digs  another,  about  which  there  is  no 
strife.  The  names  given  to  these  wells  are  made  to  cor- 
respond with  the  circumstances  ;  for  Esek  and  Sitnah 
mean  enmity  and  strife  ;  and  the  last,  which  was  not  the 
occasion  of  contention,  was  called  Rehoboth,  signifying 
plenty  of  room. 


SECTION  IV.— Removal  TO  Beersheba. 


CHAP. 

23.  IT  And  he  went  up  from 
thence  to  Beersheba. 

24.  And  the  Lord  appeared  unto 
him  the  same  ni,o-ht,  and  said,  I  am 
the  God  of  Abi-aham  thy  father; 
fear  not,  for  I  am  with  thee,  and 
will  bless  thee,  and  multiply  thy 
seed  for  my  servant  Abraham's 
sake. 

25.  And  he  builded  an  altar 
there,  and  called  upon  the  name  of 


XXVI. 

the  Lord,  and  pitched  his  tent 
there:  and  there  Isaac's  servanta 
dijrged  a  well. 

26.  IT  Then  Abimelech  went  to 
him  from  Gerar,  and  Ahuzzath  one 
of  his  friends,  and  Phichol  the 
chief  captain  of  his  army. 

27.  And  Isaac  said  unto  them. 
Wherefore  come  ye  to  me,  seeing 
ye  bate  me,  and  have  sent  me  away 
from  you  ? 


286 


ISAAC    AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


28.  And  they  said,  We  saw  cer- 
tainly that  the  Loud  was  with  thee: 
and  we  said,  Let  there  be  now  an 
oath  betwixt  us,  even  betwixt  us 
and  thee,  and  let  us  make  a  cov- 
enant with  thee; 

29.  Thatthou  wilt  dous  nohurt, 
as  we  have  not  touched  thee,  and 
as  we  have  done  unto  thee  nothing 
but  good,  and  have  sent  thee  away 
in  peace:  thou  art  now  the  blessed 
of  the  Lord. 

30.  And  he  made  them  a  feast, 
and  they  did  eat  and  drink. 


31.  And  they  rose  up  betimes  in 
the  morning,  and  sware  one  to 
another:  and  Isaac  sent  them  away, 
and  they  departed  from  him  in 
peace. 

32.  And  it  came  to  pass  the  same 
day,  that  Isaac's  servants  came, 
and  told  him  concerning  the  well 
which  they  had  digged,  and  said 
unto  him,  We  have  found  water. 

33.  And  he  called  it  Shebah: 
therefore  the  name  of  the  city  is 
Beersheba  unto  this  day. 


527.  From  the  well  Rehoboth,  Isaac  removes  to  another 
place,  which  was  afterwards  called  Beersheba,  though 
this  removal  does  not  seem,  like  the  former,  to  have  been 
occasioned  by  the  hostility  of  the  Philistine  herdsmen. 
The  circumstance  that  gave  name  to  the  place  is  here  re- 
corded, and  recorded  on  this  account,  more  than  because  it 
possessed  any  other  importance.  Abimelech,  seeing  the 
prosperity  of  Isaac,  thought  best  to  enter  into  an  arrange- 
ment with  him  formutual  protection,  to  which  the  patriarch 
was  not  averse:  and  the  oath  that  passed  between  them, 
gave  name  to  a  well  that  was  being  dug  near  the  place.  It 
was  called  Beersheba,  or  well  of  the  oath  ;  and  from  that 
the  name  was  given  to  the  surrounding  country.  The  ex- 
pression of  Abimelech  that  he  and  his  people  "  had  done 
Isaac  nothing  but  good  and  had  sent  him  away  in  peace, ^' 
must  be  referred  to  a  former  occasion  and  not  to  more 
recent  occurrences. 


SECTION  v.— Isaac's  Blessing. 
CHAP.  XXVIL 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass,  thatj 
when  Isaac  was  old,  and  his  eyes| 
were  dim,  so  that  he  could  not  see,  j 
he  called  Esau  his  eldest  son,  and 
said  unto  him.  My  son:  And  he 
said  unto  him.  Behold,  here  am  I. 

2.  And  he  said.  Behold  now,  I 
am  old,  I  know  not  the  day  of  my 
death : 

3.  Now  therefore  take,  I  pray 
thee,  thy  weapons,  thy  quiver  and 
thy  bow,  and  go  out  to  the  field, 
and  take  me  some  venison: 


4.  And  make  me  savory  meat, 
such  as  I  love,  and  bring  it  to  me, 
that  I  may  eat:  that  my  soul  may 
bless  thee  before  I  die. 

5.  And  Rebekah  heard  when 
Isaac  spake  to  Esau  his  son.  And 
Esau  went  to  the  field  to  hunt^br 
venison,  and  to  bring  it. 

6.  IT  And  Rebekah  spake  unto 
Jacob  her  son,  saying.  Behold,  I 
heard  thy  father  speak  unto  Esau 
thy  brother,  saying, 

7.  Bring  me  venison,  and  make 


ISAAC   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


287 


me  savory  meat;  that  I  may  eat, 
and  bless  thee  before  the  Lord  be- 
fore my  death. 

8.  Now  therefore,  my  son,  obey 
my  voice,  according  to  that  which  I 
command  thee: 

9.  Go  now  to  the  flock,  and  fetch 
me  from  thence  two  good  kids  of  the 
goats ;  and  I  will  make  them  savo- 
ry meat  for  thy  father,  such  as  he 
loveth ; 

10.  And  thou  shalt  bring  it  to 
thy  father,  that  he  may  eat,  and 
that  he  may  bless  thee  before  his 
death. 

11.  And  Jacob  said  to  Rebekah 
his  mother.  Behold,  Esau  my 
brother  is  a  hairy  man,  and  1  am 
a  smooth  man; 

12.  My  father  peradventure  will 
feel  me,  and  I  shall  seem  to  him  as 
a  deceiver;  and  I  shall  bring  a 
curse  upon  me,  and  not  a  blessing. 

13.  And  his  mother  said  unto 
him,  Upon  me  he  thy  curse,  my 
son ;  only  obey  my  voice,  and  go 
fetch  me  thein. 

14.  And  he  went,  and  fetched, 
and  brought  them  to  his  mother: 
and  his  mother  made  savory  meat, 
such  as  his  fither  loved. 

15.  And  Rebekah  took  goodly 
raiment  of  her  eldest  son  Esau, 
which  were  with  her  in  the  house, 
and  put  them  upon  Jacob  her 
younger  son ; 

16.  And  she  put  the  skins  of  the 
kids  of  the  goats  upon  his  hands, 
and  upon  the  smooth  of  his  neck. 

17.  And  she  gave  the  savory 
meat  and  the  bread,  which  she  had 
prepared,  into  the  hand  of  her  son 
Jacob. 

18.  And  he  came  unto  his  Mher, 
and  said,  My  father:  And  he  said, 
Here  am  I;  who  art  thou,  my  son? 

19.  And  Jacob  said  unto  his 
father,  I  am  Esau  thy  first-born;  I 
have  done  according  as  thou  badest 
me:  arise,  pray  thee,  sit  and  eat  of 
my  venison,  that  thy  soul  may 
bless  me. 

20.  And  Isaac  said  unto  his  son, 
How  is  it  that  thou  hast  found  it 
so  quickly,  my  son?    And  he  said, 


Because  the  Lord  thy  God  brought 
it  to  me, 

21.  And  Isaac  said  unto  Jacob, 
Come  near,  I  pray  thee,  that  I 
may  feel  thee,  my  son,  whether 
thou  be  my  very  son  Esau  or  not. 

22.  And  Jacob  went  near  unto 
Isaac  his  father;  and  he  felt  him, 
and  said,  the  voice  is  Jacob's  voice, 
but  the  hands  are  the  hands  of 
Esau. 

23.  And  he  discerned  him  not, 
because  his  hands  were  hairy,  as 
his  brother  Esau's  hands :  so  he 
blessed  him. 

24.  And  he  said,  Jlrt  thou  my 
very  son  Esau?  And  he  said,  I  am. 

25.  And  he  said.  Bring  it  near 
to  me,  and  I  will  eat  of  my  son's 
venison,  that  my  soul  may  bless 
thee.  And  he  brought  it  near  to 
him,  and  he  did  eat :  and  he 
brought  him  wine,  and  he  drank. 

26.  And  his  father  Isaac  said 
unto  him;  Come  near  now,  and 
kiss  me,  my  son. 

27.  Aiid  he  came  near,  and  kiss- 
ed him  :  and  he  smelled  the  smell 
of  his  raiment,  and  blessed  him, 
and  said.  See,  the  smell  of  my 
son  is  as  the  smell  of  a  field  which 
the  Lord  hath  blessed  : 

28.  Therefore  God  give  thee  of 
the  dew  of  heaven,  and  the  fatness 
of  the  earth,  and  plenty  of  corn 
and  wine  : 

29.  Let  people  serve  thee,  and 
nations  bow  down  to  thee :  be 
lord  over  thy  brethren,  and  let 
thy  mother's  sons  bow  down  to 
thee :  cursed  be  every  one  that 
curseth  thee,  and  blessed  be  he 
that  blesseth  thee. 

30.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  soon 
as  Isaac  had  made  an  end  of 
blessing  Jacob,  and  Jacob  was 
yet  scarce  gone  out  from  the 
presence  of  Isaac  his  father,  that 
Esau  his  brother  came  in  from 
his  hunting. 

31.  And  he  also  had  made  sav- 
ory meat,  and  brought  ^  it  unto 
his  father,  and  said  unto  his  father. 
Let  my  father  arise,  and  eat  of 


288 


ISAAC   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


his  son's  venison,  that  thy  soul 
may  bless  me. 

32.  And  Isaac  his  father  said 
unto  him,  Who  art  thou?  And 
he  said,  I  am  thy  son,  thy  first- 
born, Esau. 

33.  And  Isaac  trembled  very  ex- 
ceedingly, and  said,  Who?  where 
is  he  that  hath  taken  venison, 
and  brought  it  me,  and  I  have 
eaten  of  all  before  thou  camest, 
and  have  blessed  him?  yea,  and 
he  shall  be  blessed. 

34.  And  Tvhen  Esau  heard  the 
■words  of  his  father,  he  cried  with 
a  great  and  exceeding  bitter  cry, 
and  said  unto  his  father,  Bless  me, 
even  me  also,  0  my  father. 

35.  And  he  said.  Thy  brother 
came  with  subtility,  and  hath  ta- 
ken away  thy  blessing. 

36.  And  he  said,  Is  not  he  rightly 
named  Jacob  ?  for  he  hath  sup- 
planted me  these  two  times:  lie 
took  away  my  birthright;  and  be- 
hold, now  he  hath  taken  away  my 


blessing.     And  he  said,  Hast  thou 
not  reserved  a  blessing  for  me  ? 

37.  And  Isaac  answered  and  said 
unto  Esau,  Behold,  I  have  made 
him  thy  lord,  and  all  his  brethren 
have  I  given  to  him  for  servants; 
and  with  corn  and  wine  have  I  sus- 
tained him:  and  what  shall  I  do 
now  unto  thee,  my  son  ? 

38.  And  Esau  said  unto  his  fa- 
ther. Hast  thou  but  one  blessing, 
my  father?  bless  me,  even  me  also, 
O  my  father.  And  Esau  lifted  up 
his  voice,  and  wept. 

39.  And  Isaac  his  father  an- 
swered and  said  unto  him,  Behold, 
thy  dwelling  shall  be  the  fatness  of 
the  earth,  and  of  the  dew  of  he  iv- 
en  from  above: 

40.  And  by  thy  sword  shalt  thou 
live,  and  shalt  serve  thy  brother; 
and  it  shall  come  to  pass  when  thou 
shalt  have  the  dominion,  that  thou 
shalt  break  his  yoke  from  off  thy 
neck. 


528.  It  is  obvious,  in  the  first  place,  that  very  great 
weight  was  attached  to  the  dying  blessing  that  a  father 
might  pronounce  upon  his  sons.  This  wilj  account  for 
two  things,  in  this  narrative,  that  might  not  otherwise  be 
so  obviously  rational.  One  is,  the  anxiety  of  Rebekah 
that  her  favorite  son  should  receive  the  blessing  ;  and  the 
other  is,  the  exceedhig  grief  of  Esau  when  he  found  him- 
self supplanted.  It  will  not  do  to  interpret  this  matter 
by  our  impressions,  at  the  present  day  ;  for  if  we  do,  we 
shall  surely  be  misled.  Nor  is  it  necessary  to  attach  all 
the  importance  to  the  subject  that  they  attached  to  it. 
We  may  rationally  suppose  that  it  was  with  them  a  mere 
superstition.  This  does  not  alter  the  case,  as  bearing 
upon  a  true  and  just  interpretation. 

529.  Another  difiBculty  deserves  some  attention.  We 
find  it  difficult  to  understand  how  Isaac  could  be  imposed 
upon  as  he  was  ;  but  to  obviate  this  objection,  we  must 
consider,  first,  that  all  the  care  in  preparing  Jacob  for  de- 
ceiving his  father,  that  time  and  circumstances  would 
permit,  would  not  fail  to  be  exercised,  in  view  of  the  great 
issues  that  were  at  stake.     But  in  the  next  place,  it  is  ex- 


ISAAC   AND    HIS    FAMILY.  289 

pressly  said,  that  "  Isaac  was  old  and  his  eyes  were  dim, 
and  he  could  not  see  ;'^  and  when  it  is  considered  that,  in 
extreme  old  age,  the  hearing  is  apt  to  fail  with  the  sight,  we 
can  the  more  easily  understand  how  the  deception  could 
be  made  successful.  The  sight  was  wholly  gone,  the  hear- 
ing was  imperfect,  and  the  feeling  had  been  effectually 
guarded  against.  It  appears  from  verse  27th,  that  Isaac 
was  also  misled  by  the  odor  of  Jacob's  garments  ;  for  it 
was  only  what  he  would  expect  of  Esau,  who,  as  he  sup- 
posed, had  just  come  from  the  field,  and  had  prepared  the 
wild  meat  for  food.  Indeed,  this  will  illustrate  a  clause 
in  that  passage  that  might  not  otherwise  be  so  well  under- 
stood :  —  "  The  smell  of  my  son  is  as  the  smell  of  a  field 
which  the  Lord  hath  blessed.''  The  smell  of  my  son,  is 
as  the  smell  of  one  who  has  just  returned  from  a  prosper- 
ous hunt,  and  has  been  employed  in  preparing  the  game 
he  has  taken. 

530.  Again  ;  we  are  not  called  upon  to  justify  the 
course  pursued  by  Rebekah  or  Jacob  in  this  affair.  No 
intimation  is  given  in  the  book  that  the  transaction  was 
an  innocent  one.  On  the  contrary  Jacob  felt  that  it  was 
wrong  and  told  his  mother  so.  The  only  apology  that 
occurs  to  us  as  in  the  least  available,  is,  the  one  we  have 
tioticed  in  another  place,  viz.,  that  the  blessing  sought  for 
by  Esau,  was  apart  of  the  "birthright"  which  he  had 
sold  to  Jacob,  and  which  the  latter  could  only  obtain  by 
stratagem.  True,  it  had  been  announced  to  Rebekah  that 
"  the  elder  should  serve  the  younger  ;"  but  this  did  not 
excuse  the  deception.  Doubtless  her  partiality  for  Jacob 
was  the  only  motive  by  which  she  was  influenced. 

531.  The  nature  of  what  is  called  a  "  blessing,''  in  this 
passage,  is  a  topic  that  ought  to  receive  a  few  moment's 
attention.  Was  the  blessing  a  divine  impulse,  indicating 
what  would  take  place  in  the  future,  or  was  it  a  fervent 
prayer  of  the  patriarch,  indicating  what  he  wished  might 
take  place  ?  We  take  the  latter  view,  and  there  are  many 
other  references  that  will  sustain  this  opinion.  When 
Isaac  sent  Jacob  away  from  him,  xxviii.  1,  it  is  said  that 
he  blessed  him,  meaning  obviously  that  he  expressed  his 
good  wishes  for  his  prosperity  and  happiness.  So  Laban, 
when  about  to  part  from  his  friends,  xxxi.  55,   kissed  his 

13 


290  ISAAC    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

sons  and  his  daughters  and  blessed  them  ;  in  other  words, 
he  gave  them  his  parting  benediction  ;  and  it  is  not  pre- 
sumed that  he  was  divinely  inspired  to  utter  this  blessing. 
The  blessing  upon  Rebekah,  xxiv.  60,  shows  clearly  the 
nature  of  this  transaction.  "  They  blessed  Rebekah,  and 
said  unto  her,  Thou  art  our  sister,  Be  thou  the  mother 
of  thousands  of  millions  ;  and  let  thy  seed  possess  the 
gate  of  those  which  hate  them."  That  this  was  a  predic- 
tion, cannot  well  be  supposed,  as  we  have  no  evidence 
that  those  who  uttered  the  language  were  divinely  in- 
spired. It  was  then  simply  an  invocation  ;  and  the  same, 
we  infer,  of  the  blessing  upon  Jacob  and  Esau. 

532.  When  Isaac  said,  "  Therefore,  God  give  thee  of 
the  dew  of  heaven,  and  the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and  plenty 
of  corn  and  wine,"  he  simply  desired  that  his  son  Jacob 
should  be  blessed  with  an  abundance  of  the  earth's  pro- 
ductions. "  Let  people  serve  thee,  and  nations  bow  down 
to  thee,"  was  simply  a  desire  that  his  son  should  be  pros- 
pered in  a  national  point  of  view.  "  Be  lord  over  thy 
brethren,  and  let  thy  mother's  sons  bow  down  to  thee," 
was  due  to  the  first  born,  by  the  usage  of  those  ancient 
times  ;  and  Isaac,  on  the  presumption  that  he  was  blessing 
the  first  born,  assigns  his  son  the  customary  position,  and 
invests  him  with  its  appropriate  rights  and  privileges. 
"  Cursed  be  every  one  that  curseth  thee,  and  blessed  be 
he  that  blesseth  thee,"  is  a  form  of  speech  justified  by 
the  usage  of  those  times,  and  means  no  more  than  that 
his  son  should  triumph  over  his  enemies,  and  be  a  blessing 
to  his  friends. 

533.  The  blessing  upon  Esau  is  similar  to  that  upon 
Jacob,  in  some  respects,  and  dissimilar  in  others.  "  Be- 
hold thy  dwelling  shall  be  the  fatness  of  the  earth,  and 
the  dew  of  heaven  from  above,"  is  substantially  the  same 
as  the  blessing  upon  Jacob,  having  reference  to  the  same 
subject. 

."And  by  thy  sword  shaltthou  live,"  was  a  reasonable 
inference,  from  the  character  of  the  man  of  whom  it  is 
spoken,  and  did  not  require  divine  enlightenment  to 
foresee,  or  at  least  to  presume.  ''And  shalt  serve  thy 
brother."  This  was  due  to  the  first  born,  and  Jacob  is 
now  regarded  as  such,  and  Esau  is  required  to  yield  to 


ISAAC   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


291 


this  demand.  "And  it  shall  come  to  pass,  when  thou 
shalt  have  dominion,  that  thou  shalt  break  his  yoke  from 
off  thy  neck."  It  was  due  to  Esau  that  he  should  be 
encouraged  to  look  forward  to  the  time  when  he  should 
no  longer  be  in  subjection  to  his  brother  ;  and  it  was  not 
a  far-fetched  inference,  from  the  character  of  the  two  sons 
respectively,  and  from  the  circumstances  in  which  they 
were  placed,  that  the  subserviency  of  Esau  to  Jacob  would 
not  always  last. 

It  may  be  added  that  Isaac  had  divine  authority  for 
expecting  substantially  what  he  expresses  in  his  blessing; 
for  he  had  been  divinely  assured  that  Canaan,  and  all  the 
adjacent  countries,  should  be  given  to  him,  and  his  seed, 
and  that  his  seed  should  be  multiplied  as  the  stars  of 
heaven,  and  in  his  seed  all  nations  should  be  blessed. 

SECTION  VI.  —  Esau  and  his  Family. 
CHAP.  XXXVI. 


1.  Now  these  are  the  generations 
of  Esau,  who  is  Edom. 

2.  Esau  took  his  wives  of  the 
daughters  of  Canaan;  Adah  the 
daughter  of  Elon  the  Hittite,  and 
Aholibamah  the  daughter  of  Anah 
the  daughter  of  Zibeon  the  Hivite ; 

3.  And  Bashemath  Ishmael's 
daughter,  sister  of  Nebajoth. 

4.  And  Adah  bare  to  Esau  Eli- 
phaz:  and  Bashemath  bare  Reuel; 

5.  And  Aholibamah  bare  Jeush, 
and  Jaalam,  and  Korah:  these  are 
the  sons  of  Esau,  which  were  born 
unto  him  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

6.  IT  And  Esau  took  his  wives, 
and  his  sons,  and  his  daughters, 
and  all  the  persons  of  his  house, 
and  his  cattle,  and  all  his  beasts, 
and  all  his  substance,  which  he  had 
got  in  the  land  of  Canaan;  and 
went  into  the  country  from  the 
face  of  his  brother  Jacob. 

7.  For  their  riches  were  more 
than  that  they  might  dwell  toge- 
ther; and  the  land  wherein  they 
were  strangers  could  not  bear 
them,  because  of  their  cattle. 


8.  Thus  dwelt  Esau  in  mount 
Seir:  Esau  is  Edom. 

9.  IT  And  these  are  the  genera- 
tions of  Esau  the  father  of  the 
Edomites  in  mount  Seir- 

10.  These  are  the  names  of  Esau's 
sons;  Eliphaz  the  son  of  Adah  the 
wife  of  Esau,  Reuel  the  son  of 
Bashemath  the  wife  of  Esau. 

11.  And  the  sons  of  Eliphaz  were 
Teman,  Omar,  Zepho,  and  Gatam, 
and  Kenaz. 

12.  And  Tirana  was  concubine  to 
Eliphaz,  Esau's  son;  and  she  bare 
to  Eliphaz,  Amalek:  these  were  the 
sons  of  Adah ,  Esau's  wife. 

13.  And  these  are  the  sons  of 
Reuel;  Nahath,  and  Zerah,  Sham- 
mah,  and  Mizzah:  these  were  the 
sons  of  Bashemath,  Esau's  wife. 

14.  IT  And  these  were  the  sons  of 
Aholibamah,  the  daughter  of  An- 
ah the  daughter  of  Zibeon,  Esau's 
wife:  and  she  bare  to  Esau,  Jeush, 
and  Jaalam,  and  Korah. 

15.  IT  These  were  dukes  of  the 
sons  of  Esau;  the  sons  of  Eli- 
phaz, the  firstborn  son  of  Esau; 


292 


ISAAC   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


duke  Teman,    duke  Omar,    duke 
Zepho,  duke  Kenaz, 

16.  Duke  Korah,  duke  Gatam, 
and  duke  Amalek;  these  are  the 
dukes  that  came  of  Eliphaz  in  the 
land  of  Edom;  these  were  the  sons 
of  Adah. 

17.  IT  And  these  are  the  sons  of 
Reuel,  Esau's  son;  duke  Nahath, 
duke  Zerah,  duke  Shammah,  duke 
Mizzah:  these  are  the  dukes  that 
came  of  Reuel  in  the  land  of  Edom; 
these  are  the  sons  of  Bashemath, 
Esau's  wife. 

18.  IT  And  these  are  the  sons  of 
Aholibamah,  Esau's  wife;  duke 
Jeush,  duke  Jaalam,  duke  Korah: 
these  were  the  dukes  that  came  of 
Aholibamah  the  daughter  of  An- 
ah,  Esau's  wife. 


19.  These  are  the  sons  of  Esau, 
who  is  Edom,  and  these  are  their 
dukes. 


40.  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  dukes  that  came  of  Esau,  ac- 
cording to  their  families,  after  their 
places,  by  their  names;  duke  Tim- 
nah,  duke  Alvah,  duke  Jetheth, 

41.  Duke  Aholibamah,  duke  Elah, 
duke  Pinon, 

42.  Duke  Kenaz,  duke  Teman, 
duke  Mibzar, 

43.  Duke  Magdiel,  duke  Iram: 
these  be  the  dukes  of  Edom,  ac- 
cording to  their  habitations  in  the 
land  of  their  possession:  he  w 
Esau  the  father  of  the  Edomites. 


534.  The  wives  of  Esau  are  spoken  of  in  another  place, 
but  with  some  variations  that  may  not  be  easily  explained. 
The  variations  may  be  best  understood  by  placing  the 
passages  side  by  side  ;  and  here  may  be  a  suitable  place 
for  noticing  this  subject  :  — 


CHAP.  XXVI. 

34.  IT  And  Esau  was  forty  years 
old  when  he  took  to  wife  Judith 
the  daughter  of  Beeri  the  Hittite, 
and  Bashemath  the  daughter  of 
Elon  the  Hittite: 

35.  Which  Avere  a  grief  of  mind 
unto  Isaac  and  to  Rebekah. 

CHAP.  XXVIII. 
9.  Then  went  Esau  unto  Ishmael, 
and  took  unto  the  wives  which  he 
had,  Mahalath  the  daughter  of 
Ishmael,  Abraham's  son,  the  sister 
of  Nebajoth,  to  be  his  wife. 


CHAP.  XXXVI. 

1.  Now  these  are  the  generations 
of  Esau,  who  is  Edom. 

2.  Esau  took  his  wives  of  the 
daughters  of  Canaan;  Adah  the 
daughter  of  Elon  the  Hittite,  and 
Aholibamah  the  daughter  of  Anah 
the  daughter  of  Zibeon  the  Hivite; 

3.  And  Bashemath  Ishmael's 
daughter,  sister  of  Nebajoth. 


It  would  be  easy  to  pass  over  the  diflSculty  here  seen, 
with  the  simple  remark,  which  may  or  may  not  be  true, 
that  the  writer  has  made  a  mistake,  or  that  some  careless 
copyist  has  committed  a  blunder  ;  yet  this  is  the  last  con- 
clusion that  a  judicious  critic  will  be  willing  to  adopt. 


ISAAC  AND  HIS   FAMILY.  293 

535.  The  best  solution  we  know  of,  is,  that  Esau  had 
all  the  wives  here  mentioned :  — 

1.  Judith,  daughter  of  Beeri ;  2.  Bashemath,  daugh- 
ter of  Elon  ;  3.  Adah,  another  daughter  of  Elon  ;  4. 
Aholibamah,  daughter  of  Anah  ;  and  5.  Bashemath, 
daughter  of  Ishmael.  It  is  not  at  all  unreasonable  to 
suppose  that  Esau  married  two  sisters,  daughters  of  Elon, 
either  at  the  same  time  or  successively  ;  nor  is  it  a  far 
fetched  supposition,  that  he  had  two  wives  of  the  same 
name,  one  of  them  a  daughter  of  Elon,  and  the  other  a 
daughter  of  Ishmael ;  nor  again  is  it  an  extraordinary  or 
unnatural  supposition  that  one  passage  should  name  some 
of  his  wives  and  omit  others.  The  wives  last  named,  and 
not  before,  may  not  have  been  his  wives,  at  the  time  to 
which  the  first  passage  relates  ;  or  when  giving  the  gene- 
alogy of  Esau,  as  in  chapter  xxxvi,  those  wives  only  would 
be  named,  who  had  children,  while  others  that  had  none, 
would  be  omitted. 

536.  The  removal  of  Esau  from  the  land  of  Canaan,  is 
an  important  circumstance,  affecting  the  relation  of  the 
two  brothers.  It  was  a  concession  on  the  part  of  Esau, 
that  the  land  of  Canaan  was  more  properly  his  brother's. 
And  it  is  worthy  of  being  considered  whether  this  remov- 
al from  Canaan,  was  not  the  fulfilment  of  the  language 
of  Isaac  to  Esau,  xxvii.  40,  and  "  it  shall  come  to  pass 
when  thou  shalt  have  dominion,  that  thou  shalt  break  his 
yoke  from  off  thy  neck.''  Thou  shalt  escape  from  his 
dominion,  and  be  no  longer  subject  to  his  authority,  which 
by  a  divine  arrangement,  belongs  only  to  the  land  of 
Canaan.  This  removal  by  Esau,  seems  to  be  a  final  re- 
moval ;  for  he  had  been  at  Mt.  Seir  before,  and  it  was 
there  that  he  seems  to  have  been  visited  by  Jacob,  on  his 
return  from  Padan-aram.  It  would  appear  from  all  the 
circumstances,  that  Esau  had  established  himself  at  Mt. 
Seir,  while  Jacob  was  in  Mesopotamia,  and  had  acquired 
there  large  possessions.  From  that  place  ha  had  made  a 
visit  to  his  brother,  as  the  latter  was  returning  from  his 
sojourn  with  Laban  ;  and  in  turn  had  been  visited  by 
Jicob,  in  his  progress  to  Canaan.  Still  later,  both  brothers 
are  found  together  with  their  aged  father  in  Hebron ;  and 
by  their  united  services,  the  old  man  is  carried  to  his  final 


294  ISAAC   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 

resting  place  in  Machpelah.  It  is  then  agreed  that,  as 
the  possessions  of  both  brothers  are  very  great,  and  as 
the  divine  promise  had  designated  Jacob  for  the  possession 
and  government  of  Canaan,  Esau  shall  entirely  leave  that 
country  and  establish  himself  permanently  at  Mount  Seir, 
where  he  had  before  had  a  temporary  residence,  and  where 
he  had  married  one  or  more  of  his  wives.  The  passage 
now  under  consideration,  relates  to  the  carrying  out  of 
this  plan,  and  the  reason  that  induced  it. 

537.  ' '  Aholibamah,  the  daughter  of  Anah,  the  daughter 
of  Zibeon."  It  is  remarkable  how  many  difficulties  some 
men  find  in  the  Bible  where  there  are  none.  And  on  the 
other  hand,  how  exceedingly  obtuse  the  vision  of  these 
men  to  any  rational  explanation  of  apparent  difficulties 
when  such  explanation  lies  directly  before  their  eyes. 
Here,  says  one,  Anah  is  called  the  daughter  of  Zibeon  ; 
but  in  another  place,  in  the  same  chapter,  verse  24,  the 
same  Anah  is  called  the  son  of  Zibeon.  The  truth  is, 
however,  that,  Anah  is  not  called  the  daughter  of  Zibeon. 
The  passage  says  that  Aholibamah  was  daughter  of  Anah, 
daughter  of  Zibeon.  It  was  Aholibamah  that  was  daugh- 
ter of  Anah,  and  also  daughter  of  Zibeon  :  that  is,  daugh- 
ter of  Anah,  and  grand-daughter  of  Zibeon  ;  and  as  Anah 
was  son  of  Zibeon,  of  course  a  daughter  of  the  former, 
would  be  grand-daughter  of  the  latter.  I  am  not  aware 
that  grand-sons  or  grand-daughters  are  mentioned  in  the 
Bible,  the  words  son  and  daughter  expressing  both  rela- 
tions. The  examples  of  this  usage  are  too  abundant  not 
to  occur  at  once  to  the  mind  of  the  reader.  In  this  same 
chapter,  verse  12,  the  grand-sons  of  Adah,  wife  of  Esau, 
are  called  her  sons  ;  and  in  verse  13,  the  grand-sons  of 
Bashemath,  another  wife  of  Esau,  are  called  her  sons  . 

538.  It  will  probably  occur  to  the  reader,  as  a  very 
natural  circumstance,  that  Esau,  having  before  this,  re- 
sided at  Mt.  Seir,  should  have  formed  connections  with 
the  people  of  that  country  ;  and  having  formed  such  con- 
nections, that  he  should  finally  make  that  his  permanent 
residence,  and  at  length  succeed  to  the  entire  government 
of  the  country. 

539.  It  is  worthy  of  remark,  that,  as  the  sons  of  Seir, 
who  had  governed  the  country  before  it  came  into  the 


ISAAC   AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


295 


hands  of  Esau,  are  called  dukes,  the  same  name  is  applied 
to  the  sons  and  grand-sons  of  Esau.  The  former,  however, 
were  only  seven  in  number,  while  the  latter  are  fourteen, 
which  may  arise  from  the  government  being  enlarged,  so 
as  to  give  each  a  province  for  his  control  ;  or  one  portion 
of  these  dukes  may  have  been  the  successors  of  the 
others. 

540.  For  some  reason,  not  apparent,  another  set  of 
dukes  is  added,  after  tracing  the  lineage  and  government 
of  Seir,  eleven  in  number,  and  having  some  of  the  same 
names  with  the  former  ones.  This  passage  has  the  ap- 
pearance of  a  supplement,  intended  to  supply  some  omis- 
sions ;  and  indeed  this  may  have  been  its  design.  When 
the  country  was  under  the  government  of  Seir  and  his 
family,  it  was  first  governed  by  dukes,  who  reigned  con- 
jointly, and  afterwards  by  kings,  who  succeeded  each 
other.  But  no  mention  is  made  of  kings  among  the  sons 
of  Esau. 

SECTION  VII.  — Seir,  King  of  Edom. 


CHAP.  XXXVI. 


20.  ^  These  are  the  sons  of  Seir 
the  Horite,  who  inhabited  the  land ; 
Lotan,  and  Shobal,  and  Zibeon, 
and  An  ah, 

21.  And  Dishon,  and  Ezer,  and 
Dishan:  these  are  the  dukes  of  the 
Horites,  the  children  of  Seir  in  the 
land  of  Edom. 

22.  And  the  children  of  Lotan 
were  Hori  and  Heman;  and  Lo- 
tan's  sister  was  Timna. 

23.  And  the  children  of  Shobal 
were  these;  Alvan,  and  Manahath, 
and  Ebal,  Shepho,  and  On  am. 

24.  And  these  are  the  children  of 
Zibeon;  both  Ajah,  and  Anah:  this 
was  that  Anah  that  found  the 
mules  in  the  wilderness,  as  he  fed 
the  asses  of  Zibeon  his  fxther. 

25.  And  the  children  of  Anah 
were  these;  Dishon,  and  Aholiba- 
mah  the  dausrhter  of  Anah. 

26.  And  tliese  are  the  children 
of  Dishon;  Heradan,  and  Eshban, 
and  Ithran,  and  Cheran. 


27.  The  children  of  Ezer  are 
these;  Bilhan,  and  Zaavan,  and 
Akan. 

28.  The  children  of  Dishan  are 
these;  Uz,  and  Aran. 

29.  These  are  the  dukes  that 
came  of  the  Horites;  duke  Lotan, 
duke  Shobal,  duke  Zibeon,  duke 
Anah, 

30.  Duke  Dishon,  duke  Ezer, 
duke  Dishan:  these  are  the  dukes 
that  came  of  Hori,  among  their 
dukes  in  the  land  of  Seir. 

31.  IT  And  these  are  the  kings 
that  reigned  in  the  land  of  Edom, 
before  there  reigned  any  king  over 
the  children  of  Israel. 

32.  And  Bela  the  son  of  Beor 
reigned  in  Edom:  and  the  name  of 
his  city  was  Dinhabah- 

33.  And  Bela  died,  and  Jobab 
the  son  of  Zerah  of  Bozrah  reigned 
in  his  stead. 

34.  And  Jobab  died,  and  Hush- 


296 


ISAAC    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


am  of  the  land  of  Temani  reigned 
in  his  stead. 

35  And  Husham  died,  and  Ha- 
dad  the  son  of  Bedad,  who  smote 
Midian  in  the  field  of  Moab,  reign- 
ed in  his  stead:  and  the  name  of 
his  city  was  Avith. 

36.  And  Hadad  died,  and  Sam- 
lah  of  Masrekah  reigned  in  his 

37.  And  Samlah  died,  and  Saul 


of  Rehoboth  by  the  ri ^er  reigned 
in  his  stead. 

38.  And  Saul  died,  and  Baal-ha- 
nan  the  son  of  Achbor  reigned  in 
his  stead. 

39.  And  Baal-hanan  the  son  of 
Achbor  died,  and  Hadar  reigned  in 
his  stead:  and  the  name  of  his  city 
icas  Pan;  and  his  wife's  name  was 
Mehetabel,  the  daughter  of  Ma- 
tred,  the  daughter  ot  Mezahab. 


541.  The  Seir  here  mentioned,  held  the  land  of  Edom 
before  it  came  into  the  possession  of  Esau  and  his  descend- 
ants. He  is  called  the  Horite,  though  the  name  seems 
to  have  originated  at  a  later  day,  and  to  have  been  derived 
from  Hori  his  grand-son. 

542.  Anah  that  found  the  mules  in  the  wilderness,  is 
here  associated  with  this  circumstance,  from  some  impor- 
tance attached  to  it,  that  does  not  appear  on  the  surface 
of  the  record.  To  find  some  stray  mules  in  the  wilder- 
ness, was  a  very  small  affair  in  itself;  and  unless  there  is 
something  else  understood  by  the  writer,  and  presumed 
to  be  understood  by  the  reader,  we  see  no  good  reason 
for  stating  it.  We  would  suggest  whether  the  meaning 
is  not,  that  this  Anah  found  out  the  way  of  raising  mules, 
as  he  fed  or  had  charge  of  the  asses  of  his  father,  in  the 
wilderness.  Such  an  invention  is  a  circumstance  worthy 
of  notice,  perhaps,  while  the  other  cannot  be  so  regarded. 

543.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  immediate  sons  of 
Seir,  are  all  called  dukes.  Each  seems  to  have  had  a  par- 
ticular territory  or  province  over  which  he  exercised 
authority,  not  successively,  but  cotemporarily.  At  a 
subsequent  period,  the  country  was  governed  by  kings, 
who  reigned  in  succession,  as  is  obvious  from  the  lan- 
uage  that  one  died  and  another  reigned  in  his  stead. 
It  is  farther  obvious  that  the  term  of  each  reign  was 
during  life. 

544.  "  These  kings  reigned  in  the  land  of  Edom,  before 
there  reigned  any  king  over  the  children  of  Israel." 
This  passage  is  thought  to  be  a  gloss,  and  to  have  been 
inserted  at  a  late  day,  when  there  were  kings  that  reigned 
over   the  children  of  Israel ;  but  I  would  suggest  that 


ISAAC   AND   HIS   FAMILY.  297 

another  construction  is  possible  ;  and  the  character  of 
the  passage  renders  it  not  improbable.  Edom,  the  coun- 
try here  spoken  of,  was  at  first  in  the  hands  of  one  Seir 
and  his  family,  whose  sons  had  at  first  governed  it  con- 
jointly ;  and  afterwards  it  was  governed  by  a  succession 
of  kings,  from  the  same  tribe.  All  this  was  before  it  came 
into  the  possession  of  Esau  ;  and  this  is  the  fact  the  writer 
desires  to  inform  us  of.  May  not  the  passage,  therefore, 
be  construed  thus  :  —  These  kings  reigned  in  the  land  of 
Edom,  before  there  reigned  there  any  king  over  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel ;  meaning  by  the  "  children  of  Israel,"  the 
descendants  of  Esau  ;  as  that  name,  though  strictly 
applicable  only  to  the  sons  of  Jacob,  would  be  apt  to  be 
applied  to  all  the  descendants  of  Abraham.  On  the  same 
principle,  Nahoris  called  an  Aramean,  from  his  grand-son 
Aram  ;  and  Seir  is  called  a  Horite,  from  Hori,  among  his 
descendants. 

545.  Rehoboth  by  the  River.  There  are  several  places 
called  Rehoboth,  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Genesis  ;  and 
hence  some  circumstance,  to  distinguish  one  from  the 
other,  had  to  be  named.  Rehoboth  is  the  name  of  a  city 
built  by  Asshur  in  Assyria,  x.  11  ;  and  it  is  there  called 
the  city  Rehoboth,  to  distinguish  it,  it  may  be,  from  the 
well  Rehoboth,  xxvi.  22,  belonging  to  Isaac.  The  city  Re- 
hoboth in  Edom,  is  said  to  be  on  the  river,  to  distinguish 
it  from  the  one  in  Assyria,  or  some  other,  not  so  located. 

546.  It  is  worthy  of  being  added,  that  all  the  kings 
mentioned  on  this  list,  are  spoken  of,  each  in  connection 
with  a  particular  city,  with  hut  one  exception.  No  city  is 
named  in  connection  with  Baal-hanan  ;  but  he  is  called 
son  of  Achbor.  Is  not  the  meaning,  that  he  was  a  citizen 
of  Achbor,  as  son  is  often  used  in  this  sense.  This  would 
make  the  passages  alike. 

547.  Why  Mehetabel,  wife  of  Hadar,  is  distinguished 
by  being  named  in  this  connection,  does  not  appear, 
though  she  was  probably  remarkable  for  some  trait  of 
character,  or  important  transaction,  that  made  her  worthy 
of  this  distinction. 

13* 


298 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


CHAPTER  XY. 


JACOB  AND   HIS    FAMILY. 

Contents  ;  —  Jacob  goes  to  Padan-aram  ;  His  Marriage ;  His 
Family  ;  Contract  with  Laban  ;  Leaves  Laban ;  I'he  Pursued ; 
Interview  at  Mount  Gilead  ;  Prepares  to  meet  Esau  ;  Meeting 
of  the  Brothers  ;  Sojourn  at  Shalem  ;  Goes  to  Bethel ;  Returns 
to  Isaac  ;  Joseph  sold  into  Egypt ;  Judah  ;  Joseph  Tempted  ; 
Dreams  of  the  Butler  and  Baker  ;  Pharaoh's  Dreams  ;  Joseph 
placed  over  the  Land  of  Egypt ;  First  Journey  to  Egypt ;  Second 
Journey ;  The  Silver  Cup  ;  Joseph  made  known  to  his  Brethren  ; 
Jacob  sent  for ;  Jacob  goes  to  Egypt ;  Joseph  meets  his  Father ; 
Interview  of  the  Brethreii  with  Pharaoh ;  Interview  of  the  Father 
with  Pharaoh  ;  The  Famine  ;  Israel  about  to  die  ;  He  blesses  the 
Sons  of  Joseph ;  Blesses  his  own  Sons  ;  Death  of  Jacob  ;  Death 
of  Joseph. 

The  birth  of  Jacob,  and  some  other  circum stances  con- 
nected with  his  life,  have  been  noticed  in  connection  with 
the  life  of  Isaac,  as  belonging  more  appropriately  there. 
Other  things  belong  more  properly  to  the  present  chapter. 


SECTION  I. — Jacob  goes  to  Padan-aram. 


CHAP.  xxvn. 


41 .  IT  And  Esau  hated  Jacob,  be- 
cause of  the  blessing  wherewith  his 
father  blessed  him  :  and  Esau  said 
in  his  heart,  The  days  of  mourning 
for  my  father  are  at  hand,  then  will 
I  slay  my  brother  Jacob. 

42.  And  these  words  of  Esau  her 
elder  son  were  told  to  Rebekah. 
And  she  sent  and  called  Jacob  her 
younger  son  and  said  unto  him, 
Behold,  thy  brother  Esau,  as  touch- 
ing thee,doth  comfort  himself,pMr- 
posing  to  kill  thee. 

43.  Now,  therefore,  my  son,  obey 
my  voice:  and  arise,  flee  thou  to 
Laban  my  brother,  to  Haran ; 


44.  And  tarry  with  him  a  few 
days,  until  thy  brother's  fury  turn 
away; 

45.  Until  thy  brother's  anger 
turn  away  from  thee,  and  he  forget 
that  which  thou  hast  done  to  him: 
then  I  will  send  and  fetch  thee  from 
thence.  Why  should  I  be  deprived 
also  of  you  both  in  one  day  ? 

46.  And  Rebekah  said  to  Isaac, 
I  am  weary  of  my  lite  because  of 
the  daughters  of  Heth  :  if  Jacob 
take  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of 
Heth,  such  as  these  which  are  of 
the  daughters  of  the  land,  what 
good  shall  my  life  do  me  ? 


JACOB   AND    HIS     FAMILY. 


299 


CHAP.  XXVIII. 


1.  And  Isaac  called  Jacob,  and 
blessed  him,  and  charged  him,  and 
said  unto  him,  Thou  shalt  not  take 
a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan. 

2.  Arise,  go  to  Padan-aram,  to 
the  house  of  Bethuel  thy  mother's 
father,  and  take  thee  a  wife  from 
thence  of  the  daughters  of  Laban, 
thy  mother's  brother. 

3.  And  God  Almighty  bless  thee, 
and  make  thee  fruitful,  and  multi- 
ply thee,  that  thou  mayest  be  a 
multitude  of  people; 

4.  And  give  thee  the  blessing  of 
Abraham,  to  thee,  and  to  thy  seed 
with  thee ;  that  thou  mayest  inherit 
the  land  wherein  thou  art  a  stran- 
ger, which  God  gave  unto  Abram. 

5.  And  Isaac  sent  away  Jacob: 
and  he  went  to  Padan-aram,  unto 
Laban,  son  of  Bethuel  the  Syrian, 
the  brother  of  Rebekah,  Jacob  and 
Esau's  mother. 

6.  When  Esau  saw  that  Isaac  had 
blessed  Jacob,  and  sent  him  away 
to  Padan-aram,  to  take  him  a  wife 
from  thence ;  and  that,  as  he  bless- 
ed him,  he  gave  him  a  charge, 
saying.  Thou  shalt  not  take  a  wife 
of  the  daughters  of  Canaan ; 

7.  And  that  Jacob  obeyed  his 
father  and  his  mother,  and  was 
gone  to  Padan-aram ; 

8.  And  Esau  seeing  that  the 
daughters  of  Canaan  pleased  not 
Isaac  his  father : 

9.  Then  went  Esau  unto  Ishmael, 
and  took  unto  the  wives  which  he 
had,  Mahalath,  the  daughter  of 
Ishmael,  Abraham's  son,  the  sister 
of  Nebajoth  to  be  his  wife. 

10.  IT  And  Jacob  went  out  from 
Eeersheba,  and  went  toward  Ha- 
ran. 

IL  And  he  lighted  upon  a  certain 
place,  and  tarried  there  all  night, 
because  the  sun  was  set:  and  he 
took  of  the  stones  of  that  place, 
and  put  them  for  his  pillows,  and 
lay  down  in  that  place  to  sleep. 

12.  And  he  dreamed,  and,  be- 


hold, a  ladder  set  up  on  the  earth, 
and  the  top  of  it  reached  to  heaven: 
and,  behold,  the  angels  of  God  as- 
cending and  descending  on  it. 

13.  And,  behold,  the  Lord  stood 
above  it,  and  said,  I  am  the  Lord 
God  of  Abraham  thy  father,  and 
the  God  of  Isaac  :  the  land  whereon 
thou  liest,  to  thee  will  I  give  it, 
and  to  thy  seed ; 

14.  And  thy  seed  shall  be  as  the 
dust  of  the  earth;  and  thou  shalt 
spread  abroad  to  the  west,  and  to 
the  east,  aad  to  the  north,  and  to 
the  south;  and  in  thee,  and  in  thy 
seed,  shall  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  be  blessed. 

15.  And,  behold,  lam  with  thee, 
and  will  keep  thee  in  all  places 
whither  thou  goest,  and  will  bring 
thee  again  into  this  land :  for  I  will 
not  leave  thee,  until  I  have  done 
that  which  I  have  spoken  to  thee  of 

16.  And  Jacob  awaked  out  of  his 
sleep,  and  he  said,  Surely  the  Lord 
is  in  this  place,  and  I  knew  it  not. 

17.  And  he  was  afraid,  and  said, 
how  dreadful  is  this  place  ;  this  is 
none  other  but  the  house  of  God, 
and  this  is  the  gate  of  heaven. 

18.  And  Jacob  rose  up  early  in 
the  morning,  and  took  the  stone 
that  he  had  put  jTor  his  pillows,  and 
set  it  up  /or  a  pillar,  and  poured 
oil  upon  the  top  of  it. 

19.  And  he  called  the  name  of 
that  place  Bethel :  but  the  name  of 
that  city  was  called  Luz  at  the  first. 

20.  And  Jacob  vowed  a  vow,  say- 
ing, If  God  will  be  with  me,  and 
will  keep  me  in  this  way  that  I  go, 
and  will  give  me  bread  to  eat,  and 
raiment  to  put  on, 

21.  So  that  I  come  again  to  my 
father's  house  in  peace;  then  shall 
the  Lord  be  my  God : 

22.  And  this  stone,  which  I  have 
set  for  a  pillar,  shall  be  God's 
house:  and  of  all  that  thou  shalt 
give  me  I  will  surely  give  the  tenth 
unto  thee. 


300 


JACOB   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


CHAP.  XXIX. 


1.  Then  Jacob  went  on  his  jour- 
ney, and  came  into  the  land  of  the 
people  of  the  east. 

2.  And  he  looked,  and  behold  a 
well  in  the  field,  and  lo,  there  were 
three  flocks  of  sheep  lying  by  it; 
foi'  out  of  that  well  they  watered 
the  flocks:  and  a  great  stone  was 
upon  the  well's  mouth. 

3.  And  thither  were  all  the  flocks 
gathered:  and  they  rolled  the  stone 
from  the  well's  mouth,  and  watered 
the  sheep,  and  put  the  stone  again 
upon  the  well's  mouth  in  his  place. 

4.  And  Jacob  said  unto  them. 
My  brethren,  whence  be  ye?  And 
they  said,  Uf  Haran  are  we. 

5.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Know 
ye  Laban  the  son  of  Nahor  ?  And 
they  said.  We  know  him. 

6.  And  he  said  unto  them.  Is  he 
well?  And  they  said.  He  is  well: 
and  behold,  Rachel  his  daughter 
cometh  with  the  sheep. 

7.  And  he  said,  Lo,  it  is  yet  high 
day,  neither  is  it  time  that  the  cat- 
tle should  be  gathered  together: 
water  ye  the  sheep,  and  go  and 
feed  them. 

8.  And  they  said.  We  cannot, 
until  all  the  flocks  be  gathered  to- 


gether, and  till  they  roll  the  stone 
from  the  well's  mouth;  then  we 
water  the  sheep. 

9.  And  while  he  yet  spake  with 
them,  Rachel  came  with  her  fath- 
er's sheep;  for  she  kept  them. 

10.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Jacob  saw  Rachel  the  daughter  of 
Laban  his  mother's  brother,  and 
the  sheep  of  Laban  his  mother's 
brother,  that  Jacob  went  near,  and 
rolled  the  stone  from  the  v.eirs 
mouth,  and  watered  the  flock  of 
Laban  his  mother's  brother. 

11.  And  Jacob  kissed  Rachel, 
and  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  wept. 

12.  And  Jacob  told  Rachel  that 
he  was  her  father's  brother,  and 
that  he  was  Rebekah's  son:  and 
she  ran  and  told  her  father. 

13.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Laban  heard  the  tidings  of  Jacob 
his  sister's  son,  that  he  ran  to  meet 
him,  and  embraced  him,  and  kissed 
him  and  brought  him  to  his  house. 
And  he  told  Laban  all  these  things. 

14.  And  Laban  said  to  him, 
Surely  thou  art  my  bone  and  my 
flesh.  And  he  abode  with  him  the 
space  of  a  month. 


548.  It  does  not  appear  that  Isaac  was  informed  as  to 
the  intention  of  Esan,to  slay  his  brother.  Rebekah  does 
not  seem  to  have  desired  to  make  known  this  circumstance 
to  him.  Hence  the  reason  given  him  by  Rebekah,  for 
sending  away  Jacob,  washer  extreme  unwillingness  that 
he  should  marry  among  the  people  of  Canaan.  "  Rebekah 
said  to  Isaac,  I  am  weary  of  my  life  because  of  the 
daughters  of  Ileth.  If  Jacob  take  a  wife  of  the  daughters 
of  Heth,  such  as  these  which  are  the  daughters  of  the 
land,  what  good  shall  my  life  do  me."  Isaac  acted  ac- 
cording to  her  wishes  —  he  called  his  son  Jacob  to  him, 
renews  his  blessing  upon  him,  admonishes  him  not  to 
take  a  wife  of  the  daughters  of  Canaan,  and  sends  him  to 
Padan-aram,  to  select  a  wife  from  among  his  mother's 
relations.  The  reference  made  by  Rebekah  to  the  daugh- 
ters of  Heth,  rather  than  to  any  other  tribe  of  the  land  uf 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY.  301 

Canaan,  was  suggested,  and  is  explained  by  the  fact,  that 
Esau  had  married  into  that  tribe,  and  taken  two  of  his 
wives  therefrom,  xxvi.  34. 

549.  The  blessing  pronounced  on  Jacob,  on  the  occa- 
sion of  his  leaving,  xxviii.  3,  4,  contains  a  reference  to 
the  promise  that  had  been  made  to  Abraham.  It  was 
quite  natural  that  a  promise,  so  important,  and  coming 
from  such  a  source,  should  be  made  known  to  Abraham's 
posterity,  and  should  be  regarded  with  special  satisfaction 
by  those  who  reckoned  themselves  as  the  subjects  of  its 
blessings. 

550.  A  tribute  is  paid  to  the  character  of  Esau,  when 
it  is  said  that,  having  discovered  that  Isaac  was  not 
pleased  with  his  having  married  among  the  people  of 
Canaan,  he  went  and  took  another  wife  from  the  family 
of  Ishmael.  Indeed  we  shall  find  many  things  in  the 
conduct  of  Esau,  to  admire,  though  he  was  not  chosen  to 
represent  the  family  of  Abraham. 

551.  It  is  worthy  of  being  observed,  that  what  Isaac 
had  craved  in  his  blessing  upon  Jacob,  is  now  announced 
to  Jacob  himself  by  the  divine  Being  ;  and  the  blessing 
of  Abraham  is  declared  to  be  his.  xxviii.  10-15. 

552.  "  Surely  the  Lord  was  in  this  place  and  I  knew 
it  not."  That  was  truly  an  honest  confession.  The  same 
mistake  was  common  among  the  patriarchs.  Abram  had 
made  that  mistake,  when  he  went  down  into  Egypt ;  and 
from  the  apprehension  that  there  was  no  God  there,  had 
felt  himself  called  upon  to  guard  against  wrong  and  out- 
rage by  deception  and  fraud.  Isaac  had  made  the  same 
mistake  while  he  sojourned  with  the  Philistines  :  and  now 
Jacob  labors  under  the  impression,  that,  since  he  is  far 
away  from  the  sacred  altar  at  Beersheba,  he  is  therefore 
out  of  the  reach  of  the  divine  presence.  There  was  how- 
ever a  God  in  Egypt  :  and  there  was  a  God  in  the  land 
of  the  Philistines  :  and  the  same  was  true  of  the  country 
where  Jacob  reposed  his  head,  for  the  night,  upon  a  heap 
of  stones,  not  daring,  it  may  be,  to  ask  the  hospitality  of 
the  people  of  that  (so  regarded)  godless  land. 

553.  "  This  is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God.''     The 
idea  here  conveyed,  is,  that  this  ladder  reached  up  into 


302  JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 

the  house  of  God,  or  the  residence  of  tlie  Almighty.  The 
remark  was  probably  a  part  of  the  dream  ;  and  it  gave 
name  to  the  place,  for  the  meaning  of  Bethel  is  "  house 
of  God."  It  is  quite  probable  that  what  is  here  called  a 
city,  was  not  such  at  the  time  when  Jacob  lodged  there, 
but  became  a  city  at  a  later  day.  It  was  at  first  called 
Luz. 

554.  The  promise  of  Jacob  to  give  God  the  tenth  of  all 
he  had,  was  suggested,  perhaps,  by  the  conduct  of  Abra- 
ham on  a  former  occasion  ;  xiv.  20  ;  and  may  be  the 
ground  on  which  the  system  of  tithes  was  instituted,  at 
a  subsequent  period,  among  the  children  of  Israel. 

555.  The  meeting  at  the  well,  the  friendly  kiss,  the 
hospitable  reception,  and  all  the  circumstances  recorded 
in  the  same  connection,  are  the  characteristics  of  that 
primitive  age  ;  and  one  is  half  inclined,  while  reading  this 
narrative  to  wish  himself  away  from  what  are  called  the 
refinements  of  civilized  society,  and  among  the  honest  and 
simple  hearted  people  of  those  earl}^  days. 

SECTION  II. —Jacob's  Marriage. 
CHAP.  XXIX. 


15.  And  Laban  said  unto  Jacob, 
Because  thou  art  my  brother, 
shouldest  thou  therefore  serve  me 
for  nought?  tell  me,  vfhdit  shall  thy 
wages  be  ? 

16.  And  Laban  had  two  daugh- 
ters: the  name  of  the  elder  was  Le- 
ah, and  the  name  of  the  younger 
was  Rachel. 

17.  Leah  was  tender-eyed;  but 
Rachel  was  beautifnl  and  well-fa- 
Tored. 

18.  And  Jacob  loved  Rachel ;  and 


21.  IT  And  Jacob  said  unto  La- 
ban. Give  me  my  wife,  for  my  days 
are  fulfilleil,  that  I  may  go  in  unto 
her. 

22.  And  Laban  gathered  toge- 
ther all  the  men  of  the  place,  and 
made  a  feast. 

23.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
evening,  that  he  took  Leah  his 
daughter,  and  brought  her  to  him; 
and  he  went  in  unto  her, 

24.  And  Laban  gave  unto  his 
daughter  Leah,  Zilpah  his  maid ybr 


Slid,  I  will  serve  thee  seven  years    an  handmaid. 

for  Rachel  thy  younger  daughter.    !      25.    And  it  came  to  pass,  that  in 

19.  And  Laban  sii'l,  It  is  better  the  morning,  behold,  it  was  Leah; 
that  I  give  her  to  thee,  than  that  I  and  he  said  to  Laban,  What  is  this 
should  give  her  to  another  man:  thou  hast  done  unto  me?  did  not  I 
abide  with  me.  I  serve  with  thee  for  Rachel  ?  wherc- 

20.  And  Jacob  served  seven  years  fore  then  hast  thou  beguilded  me  ? 
for  Rachel;  and  they  seemed  unto  26.  And  Laban  said,  It  must  not 
him  hut  a  few  days,  for  the  love  he  be  so  done  in  our  country,  to  give 
had  to  her.  ^  the  younger  before  the  first-born. 


JACOB   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


303 


27.  Fulfil  her  week,  and  -we  will 
give  thee  this  also,  for  the  service 
which  thou  shalt  serve  with  me  yet 
seven  other  years. 

28.  And  Jacob  did  so,  and  ful- 
filled her  week:  and  he  gave  him 
Rachel  his  daughter  to  wife  also. 


29.  And  Laban  gave  to  Rachel 
his  daughter,  Bilhah  his  handmaid, 
to  be  her  maid. 

30.  And  he  went  in  also  unto 
Rachel,  and  he  loved  also  Rachel 
more  than  Leah,  and  served  with 
him  yet  seven  other  years. 


556.  The  deception  practiced  upon  Jacob  by  Laban, 
as  a  moral  transaction,  cannot  be  justified  :  and  we  are 
not  called  upon  to  justify  it.  The  same  remark  applies 
to  the  deceptive  practices  of  others  alluded  to  in  the  book. 
If  it  be  said  that  these  things  are  not  condemned  in  the 
narrative,  v^e  reply  that  the  writer  is  a  historian,  and  as 
such  it  was  his  business  to  give  us  facts,  and  not  to  moral- 
ize upon  the  transactions  he  records. 

The  social  customs  brought  to  view  in  this  passage  are 
treated  of  in  the  chapter  on  Archaeology. 

SECTION   III. —Jacob's  Family. 

557.  Jacob  had  four  classes  of  children  ;  and  the  pas- 
sages that  relate  to  their  birth,  may  be  arranged  with  ref- 
erence to  this  circumstance. 


CHAP.  XXIX. 
Children  of  Leah. 

31.  IT  And  when  the  Lord  saw 
that  Leah  rvas  hated,  he  opened 
her  womb:  but  Rachel  ivas  barren. 

32.  And  Leah  conceived,  and 
bare  a  son.  and  she  called  his  name 
Reuben:  for  she  said.  Surely  the 
Lord  hath  looked  upon  ray  afflic- 
tion; now  therefore  my  husband 
will  love  me. 

33.  And  she  conceived  again, 
and  bare  a  son ;  and  said,  Because 
the  Lord  hath  heard  that  I  was 
hated,  he  hath  therefore  given  me 
this  son  also:  and  she  called  his 
name  Simeon. 

34.  And  she  conceived  again, 
and  bare  a  son,  and  said.  Now  this 
time  will  my  husband  be  joined 
unto  me,  because  I  have  borne  him 
three  sons:  therefore  was  his  name 
called  Levi. 


CHAP.    XXX. 
Children  of  Rachel. 

22.  IT  And  God  remembered  Ra- 
chel, and  God  hearkened  to  her, 
and  opened  her  womb. 

23.  And  she  conceived,  and  bare 
a  son;  and  said,  God  hath  taken 
away  my  reproach : 

24.  And  she  called  his  name  Jo- 
seph; and  said,  The  Lord  shall  add 
to  me  another  eon. 


304 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


Children  of  Leah. 
35.  And  she  conceived  again, 
and  bare  a  son:  and  she  said,  Now 
•will  I  praise  the  Lord:  therefore 
she  called  his  name  Judah;  and 
left  bearing. 


CHAP.  XXXV. 

Children  of  Rachel. 
16.  IT  And  they  journeyed  from 
Bethel,  and  there  was  but  a  little 
way  to  come  to  Ephrath ;  and  Ra- 
chel travailed,  and  she  had  hard 

!  labor. 

i  17.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
she  was  in  hard  labor,  that  the 
midwife  said  unto  her,  Fear  not; 
thou  shalt  have  this  son  also. 

i  18.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  her 
soul  was  in  departing,  (for  she 
died)  that  she  called  his  name  Ben- 
oni:  but  his  father  called  him 
Benjamin. 


CHAP.  XXX. 

14.  IT  And  Reuben  went  in  the 
days  of  Avheat  harvest,  and  found 
mandrakes  in  the  licld ;  and  brought 
them  unto  his  mother  Leah.  Then 
Rachel  said  to  Leah,  Give  me,  I 
pray  thee,  of  thy  son's  mandrakes. 

15.  And  she  said  unto  her,  Is  it 
a  small  matter  that  thou  hast  taken 
my  husband  ?  and  wouldest  thou 
take  away  my  son's  mandrakes 
also  ?  And  Rachel  said,  Therefore 
he  shall  lie  with  thee  to-night  for 
thy  son's  mandrakes. 

16.  And  Jacob  came  oitt  of  the 
field  in  the  evening,  and  Leah 
went  out  to  meet  hira,  and  said, 
Thou  must  come  in  unto  me;  for 
surely  I  have  hired  thee  with  my 
son's  mandrakes.  And  he  lay  with 
her  that  night. 

17.  And  God  hearkened  unto  Le- 
ah, and  she  conceived,  and  bare 
Jacob  the  fifth  son. 

18.  And  Leah  said,  God  hath 
given  me  my  hire,  because  I  have 
given  my  maiden  to  my  husband: 
and  she  called  his  name  Issachar. 

19.  And  Leah  conceived  again, 
and  bare  Jacob  the  sixth  son. 

20.  And  Leah  said ,  God  hath  en- 
dowed meivith  a  good  dowry:  now 
will  my  husband  dwell  with  me, 
because  I  have  borne  him  six  sons: 
and  she  called  his  name  Zebulon. 

21.  And  .afterwards  she  bare  a 
daughter,  and  called  her  name 
Dinah. 

558.  That  the  Lord  intended  the  fruitfulness  of  Leah 
to  offset  against  the  beauty  of  Rachel,  as  the  writer  rep- 
resents, may  be  set  down  as  one  of  his  inferences ; 
though  the  principle  from  which  it  is  derived,  is  one  of 
general  application,  so  that  the  advantages  of  individuals 
are  more  evenly  balanced  than  is  commonly  supposed. 
The  conclusion*  of  Leah  that  she  bore  children  because 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


o05 


God  had  heard  she  was  hated,  is  of  the  same  character, 
as  the  one  just  noticed. 

559.  Several  expressions  contained  in  these  passages, 
show  how  intense  was  the  desire  for  offspring  in  those 
days,  the  more  intense,  perhaps,  where  they  were  most 
denied. 

560.  The  mandrakes,  we  may  infer,  were  regarded  as 
medicine,  and  good  for  the  infirmity  to  which  the  wives 
were  both  at  times  subject.  With  this  view,  the  allusion 
to  them  is  significant,  and  appropriate  in  this  connection, 
though  indicating  a  simplicity  that  we  find  it  difficult  to 
appreciate  at  the  present  day. 


CHAP.  XXX. 
Children  of  Leah's  Maid. 

9.  When  Leah  saw  that  she  had 
left  bearing,  she  took  Zilpah,  her 
miiil,  and  gave  her  Jacob  to  wife. 

10.  And  Zilpah,  Leah's  maid, 
b.ire  Jacob  a  son. 

11.  And  Leah  said,  A  troop  com- 
eth :  and  she  called  his  name  Gad. 

12.  iind  Zilpah,  Leah's  maid, 
bare  Jacob  a  second  son. 

13.  And  Leah  said,  Happy  am 
I,  for  the  daughters  will  call  me 
blessed:  and  she  called  his  name 
Assher. 


CHAP.  XXX. 

Children  of  Rachel's  Maid. 

1.  And  when  Rachel  saw  that 
she  bare  Jacob  no  children,  Rachel 
envied  her  sister;  and  said  unto 
Jacob,  Give  me  children,  or  else  I 
die. 

2.  And  Jacob's  anger  was  kin- 
dled against  Rachel:  and  he  said. 
Am  I  in  God's  stead,  who  hath 
withheld  from  thee  the  fruit  of  t lie 
womb? 

3.  And  she  said.  Behold  my  maid 
Bilhah,  go  in  unto  her;  and  she 
sjall  bear  upon  my  knees,  that  I 
may  also  have  children  by  her. 

4.  And  she  gave  him  Bilhah  her 
handmaid  to  wife:  and  Jacob  went 
in  unto  her. 

5.  And  Bilhah  conceived,  and 
bare  Jacob  a  son. 

6.  And  Rachel  said,  God  hath 
judged  me,  and  hath  also  heard 
my  voice,  and  hath  given  me  a  son : 
therefore  called  she  his  name  Dan. 

7.  And  Bilhah,  Rachel's  maid, 
conceived  again,  and  bare  Jacob  a 
second  son. 

8.  And  Rachel  said,  With  great 
wrestlings  have  I  wrestled  with  my 
sister,  and  I  have  prevailed;  and 
she  called  his  name  Naphtali. 

56i.  "  She  shall  bear  upon  my  knees"  —  she  shall 
bear  me  children,  to  be  tended  upon  my  knees,  is  proba- 
bly the  true  meaning. 


306 


JACOB    AND     HIS    FAMILY. 


The  remark  of  Rachel  that  she  would  die  if  she  had 
no  children,  maybe  regarded  as  a  singular  contrast  to  the 
actual  result  of  having  them.  It  often  occurs  that  what 
we  most  desire,  wall  end  in  our  greatest  injury. 

562.  All  the  names  of  Jacob's  sons  and  daughters  are 
significant,  and  were  suggested  by  some  circumstance 
connected  with  their  birth.  We  give  here  the  names  and 
their  definition,  together  with  the  remark  of  the  mother 
suggesting  it. 
J\'^ames.  Definitions.  Remarks. 


Reuben. 

See  a  son. 

Surely  the  Lord  hath  looked  upon 
my  affliction. 

Simeon. 

Hearing. 

The  Lord  had  heard  that  I  was  hated. 

Levi. 

Joined. 

This  time  will  my  husband  be  joined 
unto  me. 

Judah. 

Praise. 

Now  will  I  praise  the  Lord. 

Dan. 

Judge, 

God  hath  judged  me. 

Naphtali. 

Wrestling. 

With  great  wrestling  have  I  wrest- 
led with  my  sister. 

Gad. 

A  Troop. 

A  troop  cometh. 

Asher. 

Blessed. 

The  daughters  will  call  me  blessed. 

Issachar. 

Wages. 

God  hath  given  me  my  hire. 

Zebulon. 

Dwelling. 

Now  will  my  husband  dwell  with  me. 

Joseph. 

Adding. 

The  Lord  shall  add  to  me  another  son. 

Benjamin. 

Son  of  my  right  hand 

, 

Dinah. 

Judgment. 

563.  Remark.  —  Benjamin  was  at  first  called  Ben-oni, 
son  of  my  sorrow,  for  an  obvious  reason  ;  but  the  reason 
for  changing  this  to  Benjamin  is  not  so  obvious.  Dinah 
is  called  judgment,  for  a  reason  that  does  not  appear. 
May  be  she  was  born  about  the  time  Dan  was,  a  son  of 
Rachel,  and  was  named  wdth  a  similar  name  :  for  Dan 
and  Dinah  differ  in  Hebrew,  only  that  one  has  the  mascu- 
line form,  and  the  other  the  feminine. 

564.  The  list  of  Jacob's  children  is  repeated  in 
another  passage  thus  : — 


CHAP.    XXXV. 


23.  The  sons  of  Leah  :  Reuben, 
Jacob's  first  born,  and  Simeon,  and 
Levi,  and  Judah,  and  Issachar, 
and  Zebulon. 

24.  The  sons  of  Rachel:  Joseph, 
and  Benjamin: 

25.  And   the   sons    of    Bilhah, 


Rachel's    handmaid  :     Dan,    and 
Naphtali  : 

26.  And  the  sons  of  Zilpah, 
Leah's  handmaid:  Gad,  and  Asher. 
These  arc  the  sons  of  Jacob,  which 
were  born  to  him  in  Padan-aram. 


JACOB  AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


307 


Benjamin  was  not  born  in  Padan-aram  or  Mesopotamia, 
as  the  passage  states  ;  but  the  place  and  circumstances  of 
his  birth,  having  been  just  referred  to  by  the  writer,  no 
one  could  be  misled  by  his  being  associated  with  the 
others  who  were  born  in  that  country.  Such  discrepancies 
belong  to  all  historical  documents. 

565.  Another  list,  including  Jacob's  grand-children, 
as  well  as  children,  is  found  in  another  connection,  and  is 
given  as  follows  :  — 


CHAP.  XLVI. 


8.  IT  And  these  are  the  names  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  which  came 
into  Egypt:  Jacob  and  his  sons; 
Keuben,  Jacob's  first-born. 

9.  And  the  sons  of  Reuben ;  Ha- 
noch,  and  Phallu,  andHezron,and 
Carmi. 

10.  IT  And  the  sons  of  Simeon: 
Jemuel,  and  Jamin,  and  Ohad,  and 
Jachin,  and  Zohar:  and  Shaul,  the 
son  of  a  Canaanitish  woman. 

11.  IT  And  the  sons  of  Levi:  Ger- 
shon,  Kohath,  and  Merari. 

12.  IT  And  the  sons  of  Judah :  Er, 
and  Onan,  Shelah,  Fharez,  and  Za- 
rah :  but  Er  and  Onan  died  in  the 
land  of  Canaan.  And  the  sons  of 
Pharez  were  Hezron  and  Hamul. 

13.  IT  And  the  sons  of  Issachar; 
Tola,  and  Phuvah,  and  Job,  and 
Shimron. 

14.  IT  And  the  sons  of  Zebulon; 
Sered,  and  Elon,  and  Jahleel. 

15.  These  be  the  sons  of  Leah, 
which  she  bare  unto  Jacob  in  Pa- 
dan-aram, with  his  daughter  Di- 
nah: all  the  souls  of  his  sons  and 
his  daughters  were  thirty  and  three, 

16.  And  the  sons  of  Gad:  Ziphi 
on,  and  Haggi,  Shuni  and  Ezbon, 
Eri,  and  Arodi,  and  Areli. 

17.  And  thesonsof  Asher;  Jim- 
nah,  and  Ishuah,  and  Isui,  and  Be- 
riah,  and  Serah  their  sister:  And 
the  sons  of  Beriah  ;  Heber,  and 
Malchil. 

18.  These  are  the  sons  of  Zilpah, 


whom  Laban  gave  to  Leah  Ms 
daughter :  and  these  she  bare  unto 
Jacob,  even  sixteen  souls. 

19.  The  sons  of  Rachel,  Jacob's 
wife;  Joseph  and  Benjamin. 

20.  And  unto  Joseph,  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  were  born  Manasseh  and 
Ephraim.  which  Asenath,  the 
daughter  of  Poti-pherah  priest  of 
On,  bare  unto  him. 

21.  And  the  sons  of  Benjamin 
v:ere  Belah ,  and  Becher,  and  Ash- 
hel,  Gera,  and  Naaman,  Ehi,  and 
Rosh,  IMuppim,  and  Huppim,  and 
Ard. 

22.  These  are  the  sons  of  Rachel, 
which  were  born  to  Jacob ;  all  the 
souls  were  fourteen. 

23.  And  the  sons  of  Dan;  Hu- 
shim. 

24.  And  the  sons  of  Naphtali; 
Jahzeel,  and  Guni,  and  Jezer,  and 
Shillem. 

25.  These  are  the  sons  of  Bilhah, 
which  Laban  gave  unto  Rachel  his 
daughter :  and  she  bare  these  unto 
Jacob:  all  the  souls  were  seven. 

26.  All  the  souls  that  came  with 
Jacob  into  Egypt,  which  came  out 
of  his  loins,  besides  Jacob's  sons' 
wives,  all  the  souls  were  threescore 
and  six: 

27.  AndthesonsofJoseph,which, 
were  born  him  in  Egypt,  were  two 
souls  ;  all  the  souls  of  the  house  of 

j  Jacob,  which    came   into   Egypt, 
'  were  threescore  and  ten. 


566.  It  will  be  seen  that  all  the  sons   of  Jacob  had 


308  JACOB  AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

children  that  are  named  on  this  list.    Some  of  their  grand- 
children are  also  mentioned. 

567.  It  appears  that  some  of  the  sons  had  wives,  out- 
side of  the  tribe  to  which  they  belonged.  Shaul,  one  of 
the  sons  of  Simeon,  is  spoken  of  as  son  of  a  Canaanitish 
woman.  All  the  sons  of  Judah,  too,  a»  we  learn  from 
another  passage,  xxxviii.  2,  were  the  fruit  of  a  similar 
marriage.  The  wife  of  Joseph  was  daughter  of  Poti- 
pherah,  priest  of  On,  who  from  his  position,  must  have 
been  a  man  of  eminence.     Of  course  she  was  an  Egyptian. 

568.  It  will  be  regarded  perhaps,  as  not  a  little  remark- 
able, that  so  few  dangliters  are  found  on  this  list.  Jacob 
had  but  one,  namely,  Dinah.  Asher,  too,  had  one  daugh- 
ter, Serah.  It  is  possible,  however,  that  some  others 
among  these  names  were  daughters,  for  1  take  it  that  the 
term  "  sons,"  in  giving  a  family  list,  does  not  exclude 
this  idea  ;  and  if  this  be  admitted  it  will  remove  a  difficulty 
in  verse  15th,  where  the  sons  and  daughters  of  Jacob  by 
Leah  and  her  handmaid,  are  spoken  of,  while  apparently 
no  daughters  are  mentioned  but  Dinah.  I  conclude  that 
some  of  the  names,  among  the  grand-children,  were 
daughters. 

569.  The  number  of  33  includes  not  only  the  children 
and  grand-children  of  Leah,  but  Jacob  the  father,  and  two 
sons  that  died  in  Canaan,  Er  and  Onan.  The  number  QQ 
leaves  out  Er  and  Onan,  and  the  two  sons  of  Joseph  born 
in  Egypt ;  but  it  includes  Jacob  himself  and  Joseph. 

570.  It  is  remarkable  that  Benjamin  the  youngest  had 
the  largest  number  of  children  ;  but  the  Septuagint  re- 
gards some  of  them  as  his  grand-children.  With  either 
view,  there  seems  a  little  difficulty.  Just  before  this, 
Benjamin  is  spoken  of  as  a  mere  lad,  too  young  to  be 
trusted  from  home.  He  is  now  the  father  of  several 
children,  and  perhaps  some  grand-children.  The  proba- 
bility is,  that  some  of  the  persons  named  as  his  children 
were  born  in  Egypt,  and  belong  to  a  later  period. 

571.  It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  nicest  accuracy 
of  language  is  not  observed  in  making  out  this  list. 
"  These  are  the  names  of  the  children  of  Israel  that  came 
into  Egypt,  xlvi.  8  ;"  butin  giving  tlie  names,  Israel  him- 
self, as  well  as  his  children,  are  included.     Verse  7  th 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


309 


mentions  his  sons  and  daughters,  while  the  enumeration 
contains  but  one  daughter.  It  is  said  they  "  came  into 
Egypt,"  but  two  are  mentioned  on  the  list,  and  are  neces- 
sary to  make  out  the  full  number,  that  died  in  Canaan, 
and  of  course  did  not  come  into  Egypt.      "  All  the  souls 

that   came    with   Jacob   into    Egypt were  three 

score  and  six;"  but  this  number  includes  Jacob  himself, 
as  well  as  those  that  came  with  him  ;  it  also  includes 
Joseph  that  came  before  and  not  with  Jacob.  The  candid 
and  honest  reader  will  not  be  disposed  to  find  fault  with 
these  trifling  inaccuracies.  It  is  only  the  captious  that 
seek  to  use  them  against  the  truth  of  the  Bible  record. 

SECTION  lY.  —  Jacob's  Contract  with  Laban. 


CHAP.  XXX. 


2§.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Rachel  had  borne  Joseph,  that  Ja- 
cob said  unto  Laban,  Send  me 
away,  that  I  may  go  unto  mine 
own  place,  and  to  my  country. 

26.  Give  me  my  wives  and  my 
children,  for  whom  I  have  served 
thee,  and  let  me  go  ;  for  thou 
knowest  my  service  which  I  have 
done  thee. 

27.  And  Laban  said  unto  hioi, 
I  pray  thee,  if  I  have  found  favor 
in  thine  eyes,  tarry:  fori  have 
learned  by  experience  that  the  Lord 
hath  blessed  me  for  thy  sake. 

28.  And  he  said,  Appoint  me  thy 
wages,  and  I  will  give  it. 

29.  And  he  said  unto  him.  Thou 
knowest  how  I  have  served  thee, 
and  how  tliy  cattle  was  with  me. 

39.  For  it  was  little  which  thou 
hadst  before  I  came,  and  it  is  yioio 
increased  unto  a  multitude;  and 
the  Lord  hath  blessed  thee  since 
my  coming:  and  now  when  shall 
I  provide  for  mine  own  house 
also? 

31,  And  he  said.  What  shall  I 
give. thee?  And  Jacob  said.  Thou 
shalt  not  give  me  any  thing:  if  thou 
wilt  do  this  thing  for  me,  I  will 
again  feed  and  keep  thy  flock. 

32.  I  will  pass  through  all  thy 


flock  to  day,  removing  from  thence 
all  the  speckled  and  spotted  cattle, 
and  all  the  brown  cattle  among 
the  sheep,  and  the  spotted  and 
speckled  among  the  goats:  and  of 
such,  shall  be  my  hire. 

33.  So  shall  my  righteousness 
answer  for  me  in  time  to  come, 
when  it  shall  come  for  my  hire  be- 
fore thy  face:  every  one  that  is  not 
speckled  and  spotted  among  the 
goats,  and  brown  among  the  sheep, 
that  shall  be  counted  stolen  with 
me. 

34.  And  Laban  said,  Behold,  I 
would  it  might  be  according  to  thy 
word. 

35.  And  he  removed  that  day  the 
h. -goats  that  were  ring-streaked 
and  spotted,  and  all  the  she-goats 
that  were  speckled  and  spotted, 
and  every  one  that  had  some  white 
in  it,  and  all  the  brown  among  the 
sheep,  and  gave  tfiem  into  the  hand 
of  his  sons. 

36.  And  he  set  three  days'  jour- 
ney betwixt  himself  and  Jacob: 
and  Jacob  fed  the  rest  of  Laban 's 
flocks. 

37.  IT  And  Jacob  took  him  rods 
of  green  poplar,  and  of  the  hazol 
and  chestnut  tree;  and  pilled  white 
streaks    in  them,  and    made    the 


SIO 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


■white  appear  which  was    in    the 
rods. 

38.  And  he  set  the  rods  which  he 
had  pilled  before  the  flocks  in  the 
gutters  in  the  watering  troughs 
when  the  flocks  came  to  drink,  that 
they  should  conceive  when  they 
came  to  drink. 

39.  And  the  flocks  conceived  be- 
fore the  rods,  and  brought  forth 
cattle  ring-streaked,  speckled,  and 
spotted. 

40.  And  Jacob  did  separate  the 
lambs,  and  set  the  faces  of  the 
flocks  toward  the  ring-streaked, 
and  all  the  brown  in  the  flock  of 
Laban ;  and  he  put  his  own  flocks 


by  themselves,  and  put  them  not 
unto  Laban 's  cattle. 

4L  And  it  came  to  pass,  when- 
soever the  stronger  cattle  did  con- 
ceive, that  Jacob  laid  the  rods  be- 
fore the  eyes  of  the  cattle  in  the 
gutters,  that  they  might  conceive 
among  the  rods. 

42,  But  when  the  cattle  were 
feeble,  he  put  them  not  in:  so 
the  feebler  were  Labans,  and  the 
stronger  Jacob's. 

43.  And  the  man  increased  ex- 
ceedingly, and  had  much  cattle, 
and  maid-servants,  and  men-ser- 
vants, and  camels,  and  asses. 


572.  That  the  mode  adopted  by  Jacob  to  increase  his 
flocks  and  herds,  is  possible,  is,  we  believe,  conceded. 
It  is  founded  upon  a  principle  in  nature  that  is  well  known, 
however  mysterious  and  inexplicable  it  may  be.  But 
here  one  suggestion,  as  to  the  credibility  of  this  and  sim- 
ilar wonders,  may  not  be  out  of  place.  Suppose,  then, 
we  had  never  seen  any  such  thing  as  is  here  described,  is 
there  any  other  marvel  recorded  in  the  Bible,  that  would 
have  been  more  difficult  to  receive  as  trae  ?  We  receive 
this  record  as  credible,  because  it  implies  the  action  of  a 
law  with  which  we  are  acquainted.  May  not  other  won- 
ders be  as  much  the  result  of  natural  laws,  though  we 
may  not  be  acquainted  with  them  ?  We  believe  that  all 
miracles  are  the  result  of  law  (if  one  prefers  that  term) 
as  much  as  any  other  event. 

573.  The  morality  of  the  transaction  is  to  be  decided 
upon,  as  we  would  decide  upon  any  other  in  similar  cir- 
cumstances. 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


311 


SECTION  V. — Jacob   Leaves  Laban. 
CHAP.  XXXI. 


1.  And  he  heard  the  words  of 
Laban 's  sons,  saying  Jacob  hath 
taken  away  all  that  was  our 
father's  ;  and  of  that  which  was 
our  father's  hath  he  gotten  all  this 
glory. 

2.  And  Jacob  beheld  the  counte- 
nance of  Laban,  and  behold,  it  was 
not  toward  him  as  before. 

3.  And  the  Lord  said  unto  Ja- 
cob, Return  unto  the  land  of  thy 
fathers,  and  to  thy  kindred  ;  and 
I  will  be  with  thee. 

4.  And  Jacob  sent  and  called 
Rachel  and  Leak  to  the  field  unto 
his  flock, 

5.  And  said  unto  them,  I  see 
your  father's  countenance,  that  it 
is  not  toward  me  as  before :  but  the 
God  of  my  father  hath  been  with  me. 

6.  And  ye  know  that  with  all 
my  power  I  have  served  your  father. 

7.  And  your  father  hath  deceiv- 
ed me,  and  changed  my  wages  ten 
times;  but  God  suflered  him  not  to 
hurt  me. 

8.  Ifhe  said  thus.  The  speckled 
shall  be  thy  wages  ;  then  all  the 
cattle  bare  speckled :  and  if  he  said 
thus,  The  ring  streaked  shall  be 
thy  hire;  then  bare  all  the  cattle 
ring-streaked. 

9.  Thus  God  hath  taken  away 
the  cattle  of  your  father,  and  given 
them  to  me. 

10.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the 
time  that  the  cattle  conceived,  that 
I  lifted  up  mine  eyes,  and  saw  in  a 
dream,  and  behold,  the  rams  which 
leaped  upon  the  cattle  were  ring- 
gtreaked,  speckled  and  grizzled, 

n.  And  the  angel  of  God  spake 
unto  me  in  a  dream,  saying,  Ja- 
cob :  And  I  said  here  am  I. 


12.  And  he  said.  Lift  up  now 
thine  eyes  and  see,  all  the  rams 
which  leap  upon  the  cattle  are 
ring-streaked,  speckled,  and  griz- 
zled :  for  I  have  seen  all  that  Laban 
doeth  unto  thee. 

13.  lam  the  God  of  Beth-el, 
where  thou  anointedst  the  pillar, 
and  where  thou  vowedst  a  vow 
unto  me;  now  arise,  get  thee  out 
Irom  this  land,  and  return  unto 
the  land  of  thy  kindred. 

14.  And  Rachel  and  Leah  an- 
swered and  said  unto  him.  Is  there 
yet  any  portion  or  inheritance  for 
us  in  our  father's  house  ? 

15.  Are  we  not  counted  of  him 
strangers?  for  he  had  sold  us,  and 
hath  quite  devoured  also  our 
money. 

16.  For  all  the  riches  which  God 
hath  taken  from  our  father,  that  is 
ours  and  our  children's:  nowthen, 

'  whatsoever  God  hath  said  unto  thee 
do. 

I      17.   Then  Jacob  rose  up,  and  set 

j  his  sons  and  his  wives  upon  cam- 
els: 

j  18.  And  he  carried  away  all  his 
cattle,  and  all  his  goods  which  he 
had  gotten,  thecattle  of  his  getting, 

I  which   he  had   gotten    in   Padan- 

!  aram,  for  to  go  to  Isaac  his  father 

I  in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

,  19.  And  Laban  went  to  shear 
his  sheep  :  and  Rachel  had  stolen 
the  images  that  were  her  father's. 

20.  And  Jacob  stole  away  una- 
wares to  Laban  the  Syrian,  in  that 
he  told  him  not  that  he  fled. 

21.  So  he  fled  with  all  that  he 
had,  and  he  rose  up,  and  passed 
over  the  river,  and  set  his  face  to- 
ward the  mount  Gilead. 


574.  There  seem  to  have  been  some  transactions,  be- 
tween Laban  and  Jacob,  of  vt^hich  we  have  no  account. 
There  is  a  hint  of  this  kind,  in  the  remark  of  Jacob  that 
Laban  had  changed  his  wages  ten  times  ;  and  also  in  that 


312  JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

of  his  wives  "  Is  there  yet  any  portion  or  inheritance 
for  us  in  our  father's  house  ?  Are  we  not  counted  by 
him  strangers  ;  for  he  hath  sold  us  and  hath  quite  devour- 
ed also  our  money  ?  ''  The  conduct  of  Jacob  may  receive 
some  mitigation,  from  the  injustice  that  had  been  prac- 
ticed upon  him  by  Laban.  So  the  taking  of  the  images 
on  the  part  of  Rachel,  may  have*15ecn  regarded  only  as 
seeking  restitution  for  what  her  father  had  unjustly  taken 
from  her.  And,  though  one  wrong  does  never  justify 
another,  yet  we  cannot  look  upon  a  wrong  act,  when 
done  in  self-defence,  as  we  do  when  it  is  done  without 
any  such  reason.  And,  if  in  those  days  deception  and 
fraud  were  not  regarded  in  the  same  light  they  are  now, 
the  fact  is  one  of  many  illustrations,  of  what  Christianity 
has  done  for  the  world. 

575.  It  is  well  f  )r  us  to  remark  here,  as  very  plainly 
shown  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  by  many  examples  that 
might  be  cited,  and  especially  by  what  Jacob  says  in 
verse  9th;  and  his  wives  in  verse  16th,  that  God  is  said 
to  do  many  things  that  can  be  ascribed  to  him  only  indi- 
rectly. God  took  from  Laban  his  flocks  and  gave  them 
to  Jacob,  only  by  allowing  Jacob  to  do  it,  by  an  expedi- 
ent that  cannot  be  excused  by  any  strictly  just  and 
righteous  principle. 

576.  The  country  of  Laban  is  called  Padan-aram. 
Ilis  residence  was  Haran.  It  is  a  coincidence  worthy  of 
note,  that  one  of  the  grand-sons  of  Nahor  was  called 
Aram:  and  as  it  was  customary  in  those  days  to  name 
places  from  persons,  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  Aram 
was  named  after  Aram,  son  of  Kemuel,  sou  of  Nahor, 
brother  of  Abraham.  It  was  called  Padan-aram  er  Plain  of 
Aram,  as  that  is  the  meaning  of  Padan.  It  should  be 
farther  observed,  that,  in  the  Hebrew,  what  the  transla- 
tors call  Syrian,  is  Aramean,  (evidently  from  the  same 
Aram)  though  it  is  believed  that  both  terms  are  equally 
appropriate  for  the  country  referred  to. 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


313 


577.  The  river,  here  referred  to,  is  understood  to  be 
the  river  Euphrates,  as  that  is  often  called  by  way  of  dis- 
tinction the  river.  The  passage  of  this  river  seems  to 
have  occurred  more  than  once,  before  Jacob  reached  his 
destination,  owing",  we  suppose,  either  to  some  bend  in 
the  river,  or  perhaps,  to  the  meanderings  of  the  accus- 
tomed route.     Comp.  xxxii.   16,  21;  xxxiii.   3. 

578.  That  Laban  was  an  idolater,  is  obvious  from  the 
images  that  were  stolen  by  Rachel,  as  these  images  are 
expressly  called  Laban's  gods,  in  verse  30.  See  also 
XXXV.  2.  The  reason  why  Rachel  stole  them,  may  have 
been  from  an  idolatrous  veneration  that  she  entertained 
for  them,  having  been  thus  educated ;  or,  what  is  more 
probable,  from  their  value  as  composed  of  gold  or  silver. 
And  if  the  last,  the  disposition  made  of  them  afterwards, 
and  other  valuables  connected  with  them,  may  be  regard- 
ed as  an  indication  of  Jacob's  abhorence  of  idol  worship, 
since  he  would  not  retain  even  the  precious  metal  that 
composed  them,  but  buried  it  under  a  tree. 


SECTION  VI.  — The  Pursuit. 
CHAP.    XXXI. 


22.  And  it  was  told  Laban  on 
the  third  day,  that  Jacob  was  fled. 

23.  And  he  took  his  bx*ethren 
with  him,  and  i^ursued  after  him 
seven  days'  journey ;  and  they 
overtook  him  in  the  mount  Gilead. 


24.  And  God  came  to  Laban  the 
Syrian  in  a  dream  by  night,  and 
said  unto  him,  Take  heed  that  thou 
speak  not  to  Jacob  either  good  or 
bad. 


SECTION  VII.  —  The  Interview  in  Mount  Gilead. 


CHAP.  XXXL 


25.  IT  Then  Laban  overtook  Ja- 
cob. Now  Jacob  had  pitched  his 
tent  in  the  mount-  and  Laban  with 
his  brethren  pitched  in  the  mount 
of  Gilead. 

26.  And  Laban  said  to  Jacob, 
What  hast  thou  done,  that  thou 
hast  stolen  away  unawares  to  me, 
and  carried  away  my  daughters, 
as  captives  taken  with  the  sword  ? 

14 


27.  Wherefore  didst  thou  flee 
away  secretly,  and  steal  away  from 
me;  and  didst  not  tell  me,  that  I 
might  have  sent  thee  away  with 
mirth,  and  with  songs,  with  ta- 
bret,  and  with  harp  ? 

28.  And  hast  not  suffered  me  to 
kiss  my  sons  and  my  daughters? 
thou  hast  now  done  foolishly  in  so 
doing. 


314 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


29.  It  is  in  tlie  power  of  aiy  hand 
to  do  you  hurt;  but  the  God  of 
your  father  spake  unto  me  yester- 
night, saying,  Take  tliou  heed  that 
thou  speak  not  to  Jacob  either 
good  or  bad. 

60.  And  now,  though  thou  would- 
est  needs  be  gone,  because  tliou 
sore  longedst  after  thy  Mher's 
house,  yet  Avherefore  hast  thou 
stolen  my  gods? 

31 .  And  Jacob  answered  and  said 
to  Laban,  Because  I  was  afraid: 
for  I  said,  Peradventure  thou 
wouldest  take  by  force  thy  daugh- 
ters from  me. 

32.  ^Vith  whomsoever  thou  find- 
est  thy  gods,  let  him  not  live:  be- 
fore our  brethren  discern  thou 
what  is  thine  with  me,  and  take  it 
to  thee.  For  Jacob  knew  not  that 
Rachel  had  stolen  them. 

33.  And  Laban  went  into  Jacob's 
tent,  and  into  Leah's  tent,  and  into 
the  two  maid-servants'  tents;  but 
he  found  them  not.  Then  went  he 
out  of  Leah's  tent,  and  entered 
into  Rachel's  tent. 

34.  Now  Rachel  had  taken  the 
images,  and  put  them  in  the  cam- 
el's furniture,  and  sat  upon  them. 
And  Laban  searched  all  the  tent, 
but  found  them  not. 

35.  And  she  said  to  her  father, 
Let  it  not  displease  my  lord  that  I 
cannot  rise  up  before  thee;  for  the 
custom  of  women  is  upon  me.  And 
he  searched,  but  found  not  the 
images. 

36  IT  And  Jacob  was  wi'oth,  and 
chode  with  Laban:  and  Jacob  an- 
swered and  said  to  Laban,  What  is 
my  trespass?  what  is  my  sin,  that 
thou  hast  so  hotly  pursued  after 
me? 

37.  Whereas  thou  hast  searched 
all  my  stuff,  what  hast  thou  found 
of  all  thy  household  stuff?  set  ti 
here  before  my  brethren,  and  thy 
brethren,  that  they  may  judge  be- 
twixt us  both. . 

38.  This  twenty  years  have  Ibeen 
with  thee;  thy  ewes,  and  thy  she- 
goats  have  not  cast  their  young, 
and  the  rams  of  thy  flock  have  I 
not  eaten. 


39.  That  which  was  torn  o/Z/grts/s 
I  brought  not  unto  thee;  I  bare  the 
loss  of  it;  of  my  hand  didst  thou 
require  it,  whether  stolen  by  day, 
or  stolen  by  night. 

40.  Thus  I  was;  in  the  day  the 
drought  consumed  me,  and  the 
frost  by  night,  and  my  sleep  de- 
parted from  mine  eyes. 

4L  Thus  have  I  been  twenty 
years  in  thy  house;  I  served  thee 
fourteen  years  for  thy  two  daugh- 
ters, and  six  years  for  thy  cattle: 
and  thou  hast  changed  my  wages 
ten  times. 

42.  Except  the  God  of  my  father, 
the  God  of  Abraham,  and  the  Fear 
of  Isaac,  had  been  with  me,  surely 
thou  hadst  sent  me  away  now 
empty.  God  hath  seen  my  afflic- 
tion, and  the  labor  of  my  hands, 
and  rebuked  thee  yesternight. 

43.  IT  And  Laban  answered  and 
said  unto  Jacob,  These  daughters 
are  my  daughters,  and  these  chil- 
dren are  ijay  children,  and  these 
cattle  are  my  cattle,  and  all  that 
thou  seest  is  mine:  and  what  can  I 
do  this  day  unto  these  my  daugh- 
ters, or  unto  their  children  which 
they  have  borne  ? 

44.  Now  therefore  come  thou,  let 
I  us  make  a  covenant,  I  and  thou; 
[  and  let  it  be  for  a  witness  between 
;  me  and  thee. 

j      45.  And  Jacob  took  a  stone,  and 
set  it  up yb?-  a  pillar. 

46.  Mid  Jacob  said  unto  his  bre- 
thren, Gather  stones:  and  they 
took  stones,  and  made  an  heap;  and 
they  did  eat  there  upon  the  heap. 

47.  And  Laban  called  it  Jegar- 
sahadutha:  but  Jacob  called  it 
Galeed. 

48.  And  Laban  said.  This  heap  is 
a  witness  between  me  and  thee  this 
day.  Therefore  was  the  name  of 
it  called  Galeed : 

49.  And  Mizpah;  for  he  said. 
The  Lord  watch  between  me  and 
thee,  when  we  arc  absent  one  from 
another. 

50.  If  thou  shalt  afflict  my  daugh- 
ters, or  if  thou  shalt  take  other 
wives  besides    my  daughters,    no 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY.  315 


man  is  with  us ;  see,  God  is  wit- 
ness betwixt  me  and  thee. 

51.  And  Laban  said  to  Jacob, 
Behold  this  heap,  and  behold  this 
pillar,  which  I  have  cast  betwixt 
me  and  thee; 

_  52.  'J'his  heap  he  witness,  and  this 
pillar  be  witness,  tliat  I  will  not 
pass  over  this  heap  to  thee,  and 
that  thou  shalt  not  pass  over  this 
heap  and  this  pillar  unto  me,  for 
harm. 

53.  The  God  of  A.braham,  and  the 
God  of  Nahor,    the  God  of  their 


father,  judge  betwixt  us.  And  Ja- 
cob sAvare  by  the  fear  of  his  father 
Isaac. 

54.  Then  Jacob  oflered  Sftcrifice 
upon  the  mount,  and  called  his 
brethren  to  eat  bread :  and  they  did 
eat  bread,  and  tarried  all  night  in 
the  mount. 

55.  And  early  in  the  morning  La- 
ban  rose  up,  and  kissed  his  "sons 
and  his  daughters,  and  blessed 
them:  and  Laban  departed,  and  re- 
turned unto  his  place. 


579.  It  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  what  La- 
ban says  of  his  willingness  to  send  away  Jacob  and  his 
wives,  was  a  mere  pretence.  It  is  much  more  reasonable 
to  conclude  that  Jacob  was  right,  in  his  apprehensions, 
that  Laban  would  seek  to  retain  his  daughters,  than  that 
he  would  send  them  away  "with  mirth  and  with  songs, 
with  tabret  and  with  harp.'' 

580.  It  is  plain  from  Jacob's  protestations,  that  he 
was  not  conscious  of  having  taken  the  least  thing  from 
Laban  unjustly;  and  when*  Laban  had  made  a  thorough 
search  and  had  found  nothing,  it  was  quite  natural  that 
Jacob  should  be  angry,  and  show  his  displeasure  by  well 
merited  reproaches.  The  fidelity  with  which  he  had  at- 
tended to  his  duty,  while  with  Laban,  was  no  vain  boast, 
as  is  evident  from  Laban's  own  acknowledgment.  30: 
27.  And  the  expedient  made  use  of  to  increase  his  pos- 
sessions, during  his  last  engagement,  was  no  more  than  an 
offset  for  the  fraud  Laban  had  practiced  upon  him,  and  the 
additional  service  of  seven  j^ears,  thereby  obtained. 

581.  Jacob  felt  conscious  of  being  specially  under  the 
Providence  of  the  God  of  Abraham:  and  this  consciousness, 
connected,  as  it  was,  with  the  "  fear  of  Isaac,"  or  the 
veneration  he  had  for  his  father,  had  inspired  him  with  a 
desire  to  act  well  his  part,  to  guard  against  frauds 
sought  to  be  practiced  upon  him,  and  to  accumulate 
wealth  by  a  prudent  care  of  what  was  intrusted  to  his 
hands. 

582.  The  meaning  of  Laban.  in  verse  43,  is  not  quite 
obvious,  unless  it  be  this,  which  seems  most  probable  ;— < 


316 


JACOB   AND   HIS    FAWILY, 


"  These  daughters  are  my  daughters  ;  and  these  children 
are  mine,  &c.  I  can  have  no  interest  in  inflicting  injury 
on  them,  while  thc^^  retain  this  relation."  There  was  a 
better  way  ;  and  that  he  very  wisely  suggests  in  the  next 
verse. 

583.  As  soon  as  a  covenant  is  proposed,  Jacob  pro- 
ceeds to  the  usual  ceremonies  —  he  gathers  a  heap  of 
stones,  as  a  witness  of  the  contract,  and  prepares  a  feast 
for  the  mutual  gratification  and  pleasure  of  both  parties. 
The  heap  of  stones,  Laban  called  Jegar-Sahadutha  ;  but 
Jacob  called  it  Galeed,  both  terms  having  substantially 
the  same  meaning  ;  but  the  latter,  being  preferred,  became 
the  permanent  name  of  the  mount. 

The  place  was  also  called  Mizpah,  or  "  watch  tower,^' 
as  if  to  indicate  that  there  God  would  watch  the  movements 
of  both  parties,  and  take  cognizance  of  any  injustice  that 
the  one  might  do  to  the  other. 

584.  The  language  of  Laban  :  —  "  The  God  of  Abram, 
the  God  of  Nahor,  the  God  of  their  father,  judge  betwixt 
us,"  is  quite  significant.  Abram  and  Nahor  are  placed 
side  by  side,  as  the  latter  sustained  the  same  relation  to 
Laban  that  the  former  did  to  Jacob  ;  and  "  their  father," 
that  is,  the  father  of  Abram  and  Nahor,  was  Terah.  It 
may  be  added  that  the  wives  of  Abram,  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
could  be  traced  to  the  same  parentage  in  Terah. 

SECTION  VIII.  —  Jacob  prkparing  to  meet  Esau. 


CHAP.  xxxn. 


1.  And  Jacob  went  on  his  way, 
and  the  anjjels  of  God  met  him. 

2.  And  when  Jacob  saw  them,  he 
said,  This  is  God's  liost:  and  he 
called  the  name  of  that  place  Ma- 
hanaim. 

3.  IT  And  .Jacob  sent  messengers 
before  him  to  Esau  his  brother, 
unto  the  land  of  Seir,  the  country 
of  Edom. 

4.  And  he  commanded  them, 
saying,  Thus  sli.ill  ye  i^peak  unto 
my  lord  Esau;  Thy  servant  Jacob 
saith  thus,  I  have  sojourned  with 
Laban,  and  stayed  there  until  now: 


5.  And  I  have  oxen,  and 
flocks,  and  men-servants,  and  wo- 
men-servants: and  I  have  sent  to 
tell  my  lord,  that  I  may  find  grace 
in  thy  sight. 

6.  IT  And  the  messengers  returned 
to  Jacob,  saying,  We  came  to  thy 
bi'other  Esau,  and  also  he  cometh 
to  meet  thee,  and  four  hundred 
men  with  him. 

7.  Then  Jacob  was  greatly  afraid 
and  distressed:  and  he  divided  the 
l^eople  that  u-as  with  him,  and  the 
flocks,  and  herds,  and  the  camels, 
into  two  bands; 


JACOB   AND    HIS     FAMILY. 


317 


8.  And  said,  If  Esau  coiie  to  the 
one  company,  and  smite  it,  then 
the  other  company  which  is  left 
shall  escape. 

9.  IT  And  Jacob  said,  0  God  of 
ny  father  Abraham,  and  God  of 
ny  father  Isaac,  the  Lord  which 
jaidst  unto  me.  Return  unto  thy 
country,  and  to  thy  kindred,  and 
[  will  deal  well  with  thee: 

10.  I  am  not  worthy  of  the  least 
of  all  the  mercies,  and  of  all  the 
truth,  which  thou  hast  shewed  un- 
to thy  servant;  for  with  my  staff  I 
passed  over  this  Jordan;  and  now 
I  am  become  two  bands. 

11.  Deliver  me,  I  pray  thee,  from 
the  hand  of  my  brother,  from  the 
hand  of  Esau:  for  I  fear  him,  lest 
he  should  come  and  smite  me,  and 
the  mother  with  the  children. 

12.  And  thou  saidst,  I  will  surely 
do  thee  good,  and  malie  thy  seed 
as  the  sand  of  the  sea,  which  can- 
not be  numbered  for  multitude. 

13.  IT  And  he  lodged  there  that 
same  night;  and  took  of  that  which 
came  to  his  hand  a  present  for 
Esau  his  brother; 

14.  Two  hundred  she-goats,  and 
twenty  he-goats,  two  hundred  ewes, 
and  twenty  rams. 

15.  Thirty  milch  camels  with 
their  colts,  forty  kine,  and  ten 
bulls,  twenty  she-asses,  and  ten 
foals. 

16.  And  he  delivered  them  into 
the  hand  of  his  servants,  every 
drove  by  themselves;  and  said  unto 
his  servants,  Pass  over  before  me, 
and  put  a  space  betwixt  drove  and 
drove. 

17.  And  he  commanded  the  fore- 
most, saying.  When  Esau  my  bro- 
ther meeteth  thee,  and  asketh  thee, 
saying,  Whose  art  thou  ?  and  whi- 
ther goest  thou?  and  whose  are 
these  before  thee  ? 

18.  Then  thou  shalt  say.  They  be 
thy  servant  Jacob's;  it  is  a  present 
sent  unto  my  lord  Esau:  and  be- 
hold, also  he  is  behind  us. 

19.  And  so  commanded  he  the 
second,  and  the  third,  and  all  that 


followed  the  droves,  saying,  On 
this  manner  shall  ye  speak  unto 
Esau,  when  ye  tind  him. 

20.  And  say  ye  moreover.  Be- 
hold, thy  servant  Jacob  is  behind 
us.  For  he  said,  I  will  appease 
him  with  the  present  that  aoeth  be- 
fore me,  and  afterward  I  will  see 
his  face;  peradventure  he  will  ac- 
cept of  me. 

21.  So  went  the  present  over  be- 
fore him:  and  himself  lodged  that 
night  in  the  company. 

22.  And  he  rose  up  that  night, 
and  took  his  two  wives,  and  his 
two  women-servants,  and  his  eleven 
sons,  and  passed  over  the  ford 
Jabbok. 

23.  And  he  took  them,  and  sent 
them  over  the  brook,  and  sent  over 
that  he  had. 

24.  And  Jacob  was  left  alone; 
and  there  wrestled  a  man  with  him 
until  the  breaking  of  the  day. 

25.  And  when  he  saw  that  he 
prevailed  not  against  him,_  he 
touched  the  hollow  of  his  thigh; 
and  the  hollow  of  Jacob's  thigh 
was  out  of  joint  as  he  wrestled 
with  iiim. 

26.  And  he  said.  Let  me  go,  for 
the  day  b  eakcth.  And  he  said,  I 
will  not  let  thee  go,  except  thou 
bless  me. 

27.  And  he  said  unto  him,  What 
is  thy  name  ?    And  he  said  Jacob. 

28.  And  he  said.  Thy  name  shall 
be  called  no  more  Jacob,  but  Is- 
rael: for  as  a  prince  hast  thou 
power  with  God  and  with  men,  and 
hast  prevailed. 

29.  And  Jacob  asked  him,  and 
said.  Tell  me,  I  pray  thee,  thy 
name.  And  he  said,  Wherefore  is 
it  that  thou  dost  ask  after  my 
name  !    And  he  blessed  him  there. 

30.  And  Jacob  called  the  name  of 
the  place  Peniel:  for  I  have  seen 
God  face  to  face,  and  my  life  is 
preserved. 

31.  And  as  he  passed  over  Fe- 
nnel, the  sun  rose  upon  him,  and 
he  halted  upon  his  thigh. 

32.  Therefore    the    children    of 


318 


JACOB  AXD  HIS    FAMILY. 


Israel  eat  not  of  the  sinew  which 
shrank,  which  is  upon  the  hollow 
of  the  thigh ,  unto    this  day :  be- 


cause he  touched  the  hollow  of 
Jacob's  thigh  in  the  sinew  that 
shrank. 


585.  The  meeting  of  the  angels  of  the  Lord  with  Jacob, 
is  au  allusion  to  some  dream  or  vision,  that  gave  name  to 
a  place,  on  that  route  ;  and  this  is  its  only  significance, 
so  far  as  we  can  discover. 

586.  The  tone  and  manner  with  which  Jacob  would 
have  the  messengers  address  Esau,  may  be  attributed  to 
his  pacific  disposition,  or  to  his  fears,  or  to  both.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  account  we  have  of  this  patriarch,  that 
can  lead  us  to  any  other  conclusion,  than  that  he  was  a 
man  of  peace.  The  difficulty  that  had  arisen  between 
him  and  his  brother,  was  not  to  be  attributed  to  his  fault, 
unless  a  too  great  fidelity  to  maternal  authority  was  his 
fault.  And  now  that  he  is  about  to  return,  and  must 
pass  through  the  region  of  country  occupied  by  Esau,  he 
shows  his  pacific  disposition  by  sending  him  a  friendly 
message. 

587.  The  return  of  the  messengers,  announcing  the 
approach  of  Esau,  with  four  hundred  men,  creates  consid- 
erable alarm,  as  the  messengers  seem  to  have  presumed 
that  he  was  coming  with  hostile  intention  :  and  Jacob,  in 
doubt  whether  his  brother  would  approach  him  in  a  friend- 
ly manner  or  otherwise,  makes  his  arrangements  to  suit 
either  emergency.  Dividing  his  company  into  two  bands, 
so  that  if  one  is  attacked,  the  other  may  escape,  he  then 
selects  from  his  flocks  and  herds  a  well  assorted  and  lib- 
eral present,  to  be  sent  forward  to  his  brother,  with  the 
hope  of  thus  appeasing  his  wrath,  in  the  meantime,  offer- 
ing an  earnest  prayer  to  God  for  his  protection. 

588.  The  present  being  prepared  and  divided  into  sev- 
eral droves,  each  being  instructed  to  advance  in  regular 
order,  it  is  then  sent  over  the  Jordan,  with  specific  in- 
structions, in  what  manner  to  address  the  approaching 
brother.  Himself,  with  his  wives  and  children,  and  what- 
ever else  he  had  with  him,  passed  over  the  ford  of  Jabbok, 
%  small  stream  emptying  into  the  Jordan.  That  night 
was  one  of  great  excitement  with  Jacob.  He  wrestled 
with  a  man,  and  the  wrestling  was  long  continued  ;  but 
in  the  end,  as  the  morning  approached,  he  was  successful, 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


319 


and  obtained  a  blessing  from  his  antagonist.  Was  not 
this  an  answer  to  the  prayer  of  the  patriarch,  and  sig- 
nificant of  the  next  days'  experience  f  The  passage  is 
evidently  a  vision  as  indicated  by  several  circumstances. 
It  was  in  the  night.  Jacob  saw  God  face  to  face.  No 
man  hath  literally  seen  God  at  any  time  ;  but  it  was  com- 
mon in  those  ancient  times  for  God  to  appear  to  men. 

589.  The  place  where  this  vision  occurred,  was  called 
Peniel  or  Penuel,  meaning  the  "face  of  God."  We 
think,  however,  that  verse  31,  should  be  differently  ren- 
dered. "  As  the  divine  presence,  or  face  of  God,  passed 
away,  the  sun  rose  and  he  halted  upon  his  thigh."  The 
effect  upon  Jacob,  for  the  time  being,  was  the  same  as  if 
the  vision  had  been  real. 

590.  The  custom  of  not  eating  the  sinew  that  shrank, 
we  believe  is  nowhere  else  alluded  to  in  the  Bible,  and  is 
one  that  probably  did  not  long  continue  among  that  people. 

SECTION  IX.  —  Meeting  OF  THE  Brothers. 
CHAP,  xxxin. 


1.  And  Jacob  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
and  looked,  and  behold,  Esau  came, 
and  with  him  four  hundred  men. 
And  he  divided  the  children  unto 
Leah,  and  unto  Rachel,  and  unto 
the  two  handmaids. 

2.  And  he  put  the  handmaids 
and  their  children  foremost,  and 
Leah  and  her  children  after,  and 
Rachel  and  Joseph  hindermost. 

3.  And  he  passed  over  before 
them,  and  bowed  himself  to  the 
ground  seven  times,  and  he  came 
near  to  his  brother. 

4.  And  Esau  ran  to  meet  him, 
and  embraced  him,  and  fell  on  his 
neck,  and  kissed  him:  and  they 
wept. 

5.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and 
saw  the  women  and  the  children ; 
and  said,  Who  are  those  with  thee? 
And  he  said,  The  children  which 
God  hath  graciously  given  thy  ser- 
vant. 


6.  Then  the  handmaidens  came 
near,  they  and  their  children,  and 
they  bowed  themselves. 

7.  And  Leah  also  with  her  chil- 
dren came  near,  and  bowed  them- 
selves: and  after  came  Joseph  near 
and  Rachel,  and  they  bowed  them- 
selves. 

8.  And  he  said.  What  meanest 
thou  by  all  this  drove  which  I  met  ? 
And  he  said.  These  are  to  find 
grace  in  the  sight  of  my  lord. 

9.  And  Esau  said,  I  have  enough, 
my  brother  :  keep  that  thou  hast 
unto  thyself. 

10.  And  Jacob  said,  Nay,  I  pray 
thee;  if  now  I  have  found  grace  in 
thy  sight,  then  receive  my  present 
at  my  hand :  for  therefore  I  have 
seen  thy  face,  as  though  I  had  seen 
the  face  of  God,  and  thou  wast 
pleased  with  me. 

11.  Take,  I  pray  thee,  my  bless- 
ing that  is  brought  to  thee ;  because 


320 


JACOB   AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


God  hath  dealt  g:raciously  with  me, 
and  because  I  have  enough.  And 
he  urged  him  and  he  took  it. 

12.  And  he  said,  Let  us  take  our 
journey,  and  let  us  go,  and  I  will 
go  before  thee. 

13.  And  he  said  unto  him,  My 
lord  knoweth  that  the  children  are 
tender,  and  the  flocks  and  herds 
with  young  are  with  me;  and  if 
men  should  oyerdrive  them  one 
day,  all  the  flock  will  die. 

14.  Letmylord.Ipray  thee,  pass 
over  before  his  servant;  and  I  will 
lead  on  softly,  according  as  the  cat- 


tle that  goeth  before  me,  and  the 
children  be  able  to  endure,  until  I 
come  unto  my  Lord,  unto  Seir. 

15.  And  Esau  said,  Let  me  now 
leave  with  thee  some  of  the  folk 
that  are  with  me.  And  he  said, 
What  needeth  it?  let  me  find  grace 
in  the  sight  of  my  Lord. 

16.  So  Esau  returned  that  daj-  on 
his  way  unto  Seir. 

IV.  And  Jacob  journeyed  to  Suc- 
coth,  and  built  him  an  house,  and 
made  booths  for  his  cattle :  there- 
fore the  name  of  the  place  is  called 
Succoth. 


591.  The  division  of  his  company  into  different  bands, 
had  the  same  object  in  view  with  that  before  given,  xxxii. 
1,  8  ;  the  choicest  being  placed  in  the  rear  so  as  to  have 
the  best  chance  to  escape,  if  Esau  shonld  show  a  hostile 
intention.  Still,  to  conciliate  his  brother  as  much  as  pos- 
sible, Jacob  approaches  him  in  the  most  respectful  mannor, 
according  to  the  custom  of  that  ancient  time.  We  canuot 
doubt  that  he  was  happily  disappointed  when  his  brother 
approached,  and  in  a  most  affectionate  manner,  embraced 
and  kissed  him.  And  indeed  the  whole  conduct  of  Esau 
on  that  occasion,  is  fitted  to  give  us  a  favorable  view  of 
his  character.  In  how  delicate  and  generous  a  manner 
does  he  decline  the  offer  of  a  present  from  his  brother, 
and  accepts  it  at  last  only,  when  to  have  objected  farther, 
might  have  been  construed  into  a  misconception  of  his 
kind  feelings.  His  proposition  to  go  forward,  and  lead 
the  way  to  his  home  at  Mt.  Seir,  was  in  harmony  with 
his  disposition  as  shown  by  other  circumstances. 

And  when  this  proposition  was  declined  by  Jacob,  on 
account  of  the  slow  progress  he  would  be  obliged  to 
make,  the  additional  proposition  on  the  part  of  Esau,  to 
leave  some  of  his  company  as  companions  and  guides, 
shows  the  great  kindness  that  was  felt  by  that  brother. 

592.  The  allusion  to  Succoth  was  simply  to  account 
for  the  name  of  that  place.  The  name  means  "  booths,'' 
and  was  taken  from  the  fact  that  Jacob  had  made  a  tem- 
porary stop  at  that  place,  and  had  constructed  booths  for 
his  cattle. 


JACOB   AND    Ills   FAMILY. 


321 


SECTION  X.— Sojourn  at  Shalem. 


CHAP.  XXXIII. 


18.  ^  And  Jacob  came  to  Sha- 
lem, a  cit}^  of  Shechem,  which  is 
in  the  land  of  Canaan,  when 
he  came  from  Padan-aram ;  and 
pitched  his  tent  before  the  city. 

19.  And  he  bought  a  parcel  of  a 


field  where  he  had  spread  his  tent, 
at  the  hand  of  the  children  of 
Hamor,  Shechem's  father,  for  an 
hundred  pieces  of  money. 

20.  And  he  erected  there  an  al- 
tar, and  called  it  El-elohe-Israel. 


CHAP.   XXXIV. 


1.  And  Dinah  the  daughter  of 
Leah,  which  she  bare  unto  Jacob, 
went  out  to  see  the  daughters  of 
the  land. 

2.  And  when  Shechem  the  son 
of  Hamor  the  Hivite,  prince  of  the 
country,  saw  her,  he  took  her,  and 
lay  with  her,  and  defiled  her. 

3.  And  his  soul  clave  unto  Dinah 
the  daughter  of  Jacob,  and  he 
loved  the  damsel,  and  spake  kindly 
unto  the  damsel. 

4.  And  Shechem  spake  unto  his 
father  Hamor,  saying.  Get  me  this 
damsel  to  wife. 

5.  And  Jacob  heard  that  he  had 
defiled  Dinah  his  daughter:  (now 
his  sons  were  with  his  cattle  in  the 
field :  and  Jacob  held  his  peace  un- 
til they  were  come.) 

6.  IT  And  Hamor  the  father  of 
Shechem  went  out  unto  Jacob  to 
commune  with  him. 

7.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  came 
out  of  the  field  when  they  heard  it  : 
and  the  men  were  grieved,  and  they 
were  very  wroth,  because  he  had 
wrought  folly  in  Israel  in  lying 
with  Jacob's  daughter ;  which  thing 
ought  not  to  be  done. 

8.  And  Hamor  communed  with 
them,  saying.  The  soul  of  my  son 
Shechem  longeth  for  your  daugh- 
ter: I  pray  you  give  her  him"  to 
wife. 

9.  And  make  ye  marriages  with 
us,  and  give  your  daughters  unto 
us,  and  take  our  daughters  unto 
you. 

14* 


10.  And  ye  shall  dwell  with  us: 
and  tlie  land  shall  be  before  you; 
dwell  and  trade  ye  therein,  and  get 
you  possessions  therein. 

11.  And  Shechem  said  unto  her 
fixther  nnd  unto  her  brethren.  Let 
me  find  grace  in  your  eyes,  and 
what  ye  shall  say  unto  me  I  will 
give. 

12.  Ask  me  never  so  much  dowry 
and  gift,  and  I  will  give  according 
as  ye  shall  say  unto  me:  but  give 
me  the  damsel  to  wife. 

13.  And  the  sons  of  Jacob  an- 
swered Shechem  and  Hamor  his 
father  deceitfully,  and  said,  (be- 
cause he  had  defiled  Dinah  their 
sister,) 

J 4.  And  they  said  unto  them. 
We  cannot  do  this  thing,  to  give 
our  sister  to  one  that  is  uncircum- 
cised;  for  thatu'ere  a  reproach  un- 
to us: 

15.  But  in  this  will  we  consent 
unto  you:  if  ye  will  be  as  we  be, 
that  every  male  of  you  be  circum- 
cised ; 

16.  Then  will  we  give  our  daugh- 
ters unto  you,  and  we  will  take 
your  daughters  to  us,  and  we  will 
dwell  with  you,  and  we  will  become 
one  people. 

17.  But  if  ye  will  not  hearken  un- 
to us,  to  be  circumcised;  then  will 
wc  take  our  daughter,  and  we  will 
be  gone. 

18.  And  their  words  pleased  Ha- 
mor, and  Shechem,  Hamor 's  son. 

19.   And  the  young  man  deferred 


322 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


not  to  do  the  thing,  because  he  had 
delight  in  Jacob's  daughter;  and 
he  was  more  honorable  than  all  the 
house  of  his  father. 

20.  IT  And  Hamor  and  Shechem 
his  son  came  unto  the  gate  of  their 
city,  and  communed  with  the  men 
of  their  city  saying, 

21.  These  men  are  peaceable  witt 
us;  therefore  let  theui  dwell  in  the 
land,  and  trade  thei-eiu;  for  the 
land,  behold,  it  is  large  enough  for 
them:  let  us  take  their  daughters  to 
us  for  -wives,  and  let  us  give  them 
our  daughters. 

22.  Only  herein  will  the  men  con- 
Bent  unto  us  for  to  dwell  with  us, 
to  be  one  people,  if  every  male 
among  us  be  circumcised,  as  they 
are  circumcised. 

23.  Shall  not  their  cattle  and 
their  substance  and  every  beast  of 
theirs  be  ours  ?  only  let  us  consent 
unto  them,  and  they  will  dwell  with 
us. 

24.  And  unto  Hamor  and  unto 
Shechem  his  son ,  hearkened  all  that 
went  out  of  the  gate  of  his  city;  and 
every  male  was  circumcised,  all  that 
went  out  of  the  gate  of  his  city. 

25.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  on  the 
third  day,  when  they  were  sore. 


that  two  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  Sim- 
con  and  Levi,  Dinah's  brethren, 
took  each  man  his  sword,  and  came 
upon  the  city  boldly,  and  slew  all 
the  males. 

26.  And  they  slew  Hamor  and 
Shechem  his  son  with  the  edge  of 
the  sword,  and  took  Dinah  out  of 
Shechcm's  house,  and  went  out. 

27.  The  sons  of  Jacob  came  upon 
the  slain,  and  spoiled  the  city,  be- 
cause they  had  defiled  their  sister. 

28.  They  took  their  sheep,  and 
their  oxen,  and  their  asses,  and  that 
which  was  in  the  city,  and  that 
which  uas  in  the  field. 

29.  And  all  their  wealth,  and  all 
their  little  ones,  and  their  wives, 
took  they  captive,  and  spoiled  all 
even  all  that  icas  in  the  house. 

30.  And  Jacob  said  to  Simeon  and 
Levi,  Ye  have  troubled  me  to  make 
me  to  stink  among  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land,  amongst  the  Canaan- 
ites  and  the  Perizzites  :  and  I  being 
few  in  number,  they  shall  gather 
themselves  together  against  me, 
and  slay  me ;  and  I  shall  be  destroy- 
ed, I  and  my  house. 

31 .  And  they  said.  Should  he  deal 
with  our  sister  as  with  an  harlot  ? 


593.  We  got  the  impression  from  the  preceding  nar- 
rative, that  Jacob  would  pass  by  Mount  Seir,  on  his  way 
to  Canaan :  but  nothing  being  said  of  this,  we  suspect 
that  he  did  not  take  that  route.  It  may  be,  however, 
that  Succoth  was  near  to  Seir,  and  that  was  the  reason 
of  the  temporary  stay  at  that  place.  It  may  be,  too,  that 
Seir  was  not  on  or  near  the  regular  route  ;  and  this  cir- 
cumstance will  place  the  conduct  of  Esau  in  a  still  more 
favorable  light:  since  it  shows  how  much  pains  he  took  to 
declare  his  kind  disposition  to  his  brother  by  going  a  long 
way  to  meet  him. 

Our  knowledge  of  localities,  obtained  only  from  the 
book  of  Genesis,  (for  it  does  not  fall  in  with  our  plan  to 
go  beyond  this  book  at  present,)  though  much  more 
accurate  and  extensive  than  would  at  first  be  supposed, 
must   still  be  limited  ;  and  some   questions  of  this  sort 


JACOB  AND   HIS   FAMILY.  323 

must  be  left  till  we  advance  into  the  other  books  ;  and 
even  then  we  may  not  be  able  to  solve  them  all  with  accu- 
racy. 

594.  The  hundred  pieces  of  silver,  paid  by  Jacob  for 
the  parcel  of  ground  before  the  city,  is,  in  the  Greek  ver- 
sion,  a  hundred  lambs,  which  suits  what  we  know  to  have 
been  ancient  usage,  better  than  our  translation.  It  may 
be  added,  however,  that  the  expression  "  a  hundred  pieces 
of  silver,''  need  not  be,  of  necessity,  interpreted  to  mean 
that  Jacob  paid  for  the  land  in  silver  money  ;  but  it  may 
be  understood  as  simply  indicating  the  value  of  the  con- 
sideration. 

As  an  illustration,  it  is  said  of  Abimelech,  xx.  14,  that 
he  gave  Abraham,  "  sheep  and  oxen  and  men  servants 
and  women  servants  ;"  and  it  is  afterwards  said,  with 
apparent  reference  to  this  same  present,  that  he  had  given 
him  "  a  thousand  pieces  of  silver."  The  meaning  of  our 
version  and  that  of  the  Greek  is,  therefore,  substantially 
the  same  ;  the  hundred  lambs  of  the  one,  being  equal  to 
the  hundred  pieces  of  silver  in  the  other. 

595.  The  circumstance  of  Dinah's  misfortune,  is  men- 
tioned by  the  writer,  as  a  matter  connected  with  the 
biography  of  the  patriarch,  and  as  the  occasion  of  the 
treachery  and  cruel  massacre  enacted  by  his  two  oldest 
sons  and  brothers  of  Dinah,  and  the  farther  occasion  of  the 
malediction  of  these  sons  found  in  the  last  "  blessing" 
of  their  dying  father.  That  malediction  would  not  be 
understood  without  a  knowledge  of  the  disposition  and 
conduct  that  merited  it ;  and  the  latter  required  the  occa- 
sion of  their  treachery  and  cruelty  to  be  recorded,  and 
the  excuse  they  urged  in  its  justification,  to  be  distinctly 
stated. 

596.  The  unwillingness  of  the  sons  of  Jacob  to  be  allied 
with  the  people  of  Canaan,  was  a  natural  result  of  cir- 
cumstances ;  and  if  it  was  not  a  true  interpretation  of  a 
divine  command,  it  was  at  least  a  correct  deduction  from 
the  example  of  their  fathers.  This  feeling,  however,  did 
not  justify  the  treacherous  conduct  of  the  two  sons  of 
Jacob  ;  nor  is  it  justified  in  the  narrative,  but  clearly 
condemned. 


324 


JACOB    AND    I] IS   FAMILY. 


597.  The  destruction  of  the  whole  city  of  Shalem  by 
the  two  sons  of  Jacob,  would  seem  incredible,  except  for 
the  following  circumstances  :  — 

One  is  mentioned  in  the  narrative.  Another  is,  that 
cities  in  those  days  were  only  small  towns,  many  of  them 
containing  only  a  few  scores  of  inhabitants.  Another, 
that  Simeon  and  Levi  are  to  be  regarded  as  the  leaders  in 
the  attack  ;  while  doubtless  the  servants  of  Jacob,  and 
perhaps  some  of  his  other  sons,  were  joined  with  them 
in  the  enterprise.  It  is  quite  common  with  all  writers,  in 
recording  such  enterprises,  to  name  only  the  leaders, 
although  it  is  presumed  that  they  were  assisted  by 
others. 

For  social  customs,  see  Archaeology. 

SECTION  XI.  —  Going  to  Bethel. 


CHAP.   XXXV. 


1.  And  God  said  unto  Jacob, 
Arise,  go  up  to  Bethel,  and  dwell 
there:  and  make  there  an  altar  un- 
to God,  that  appeared  unto  thee 
when  thou  fleddest  from  the  face  of 
Esau  thy  brother. 

2.  Then  JHcob  said  unto  his 
household,  and  to  all  that  were 
with  him,  Put  away  the  strange 
gods  that  are  among  you,  an  i  be 
clean,  and  change  your  garments: 

3.  And  let  us  arise,  and  go  up  to 
Bethel;  and  I  will  make  there  an 
altar  unto  God,  who  answered  me 
in  the  day  of  my  distress,  and  was 
with  me  in  the  way  which  I  went. 

4.  And  they  gave  unto  Jacob  all 
the  strange  gods  which  were  in 
their  hand,  and  all  their  earrings 
which  were  in  tlieir  ears ;  and  Ja- 
cob hid  them  under  the  oak  which 
was  by  Shechem. 

5.  And  they  journeyed:  and  the 
terror  of  God  was  upon  the  cities 
that  were  round  about  them,  and 
they  did  not  pursue  after  the  sons 
of  Jacob. 

6.  IT  So  Jacob  came  to  Luz,  which 
is  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  that  is, 
Bethel,  he  and  all  the  people  that 
were  with  him. 


7.  And  he  built  there  an  altar, 
and  called  the  place  El-bethel:  be- 
cause there  God  appeared  unto 
him,  when  he  fled  from  the  face  of 
his  brother. 

8.  But  Deborah,  Rebekah's  nurse, 
died,  and  she  was  buried  beneath 
Bethel  under  an  oak ;  and  the  name 
of  it  was  called  Allon-bachuth. 

9.  IT  And  God  appeared  unto  Ja- 
cob again,  when  he  came  out  of 
Padan-aram,  and  blessed  him. 

10.  And  God  said  unto  him.  Thy 
name  is  Jacob:  thy  name  shall  not 
be  called  any  more  Jacob,  but  Is- 
rael shall  be  thy  name;  and  he 
called  his  name  Israel. 

11.  And  God  said  unto  him,  I 
am  God  Almighty:  be  fruitful  and 
multiply;  a  nation  and  a  company 
of  nations  shall  be  of  thee,  and 
kings  shall  come  out  of  thy  loins: 

12.  And  the  land  which  I  gave 
Abraham  and  Isaac,  to  thee  I  will 
give  it,  and  to  thy  seed  after  thee 
will  I  give  the  land. 

13.  And  God  went  up  from  him 
in  the  place  where  he  talked  with 
him. 

14.  And  Jacob  set  up  a  pillar  in 
the  place  where  he  talked  with  him. 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


325 


even  a  pillar  of  stone ;  and  he  pour- 
ed a  drink-offering  thereon,  and  he 
poured  oil  thereon. 


15.  And  Jacob  called  the  name  of 
the  place,  where  God  spake  yrith 
him,  Beth-el. 


598.  The  strange  gods  here  alluded  to,  were  those 
that  Rachel  had  brought  with  her  from  her  father's  house, 
of  which  we  have  heard  before.  It  appears  that  Jacob 
had  soEQe  way  been  made  acquainted  with  the  larceny  of 
his  wife  ;  and  he  is  now  taking  means  to  rid  himself  of 
the  evil  that  was  likely  to  grow  into  an  idolatrous  worship 
with  his  family.  But  who  were  the  "  people"  implicated 
in  the  same  charge  of  idolatry  '/  The  reference  may  be 
to  the  wives  of  some  of  Jacob's  sons,  or  to  his  servants, 
of  which  we  know  he  had  many,  or  perhaps  to  the 
"  wives  and  children"  that  had  been  made  captives  in 
the  sacking  of  Shalem. 

599.  It  may  be  remembered  that  when  Jacob  fled  from 
the  wrath  of  his  brother,  he  tarried  over  night  at  Bethel, 
and  had  there  erected  a  rude  altar  of  stone ;  and  had 
promised  a  tithe  of  all  his  possessions,  provided  the  Lord 
would  prosper  him  in  his  way,  and  return  him  to  his 
father's  house.  Now  the  Lord  had  prospered  him.  giving 
him  "bread  to  eat  and  clothing  to  wear,'*  and  had  re- 
turned him  to  his  own  land,  and  had  (as  will  soon  appear) 
brought  him  near  to  his  father's  house.  And  under  these 
circumstances,  it  seemed  exceedingly  proper,  that  he 
should  go  again  to  Bethel,  and  renew  the  altar  and  make 
suitable  thank-offerings  for  the  blessings  he  had  received. 

600.  The  Shechem  here  named,  may  be  the  same  as 
Shalem  before  alluded  to,  or  it  may  be  a  neighboring  city, 
taking  its  name  evidently  from  Shechem,  son  of  Hamor, 
alluded  to  in  the  narrative. 

601.  The  •'  terror  of  God"  is  a  Hebraism,  meaning  a 
great  terror  :  and  the  allusion  is  to  the  recent  sacking  of 
Shalem  which  Jacob  supposed  would  provoke  a  war 
against  him  by  the  neighboring  tribes  ;  and  the  design  ot 
the  narrative  is  to  inform  us  that  no  such  result  followed, 
as  a  great  fear  had  taken  possession  of  the  neighboring 
people. 

602.  As  God  had  once  appeared  to  Jacob  in  Bethel, 
80  now  we  are  told  that  he  appeared  to  him  again  ; 
though  it  is  not  said,  in  this  case,  as  in  the  other,  that 


326  JACOB   AXD    HIS   FAMILY. 

this  appearance  was  in  a  dream ;  yet  we  would  suggest 
whether  this  is  not  a  fair  conclusion  ;  and  if  so,  it  will 
help  to  sustain  our  views  of  this  subject  proposed  in 
another  place,     p.  30. 

603.  Jacob  is  again  told  that  his  name  should  be 
changed  to  Israel,  as  he  had  been  told  on  a  former  occa- 
sion, xxxii.  28  :  and  the  reason  of  repeating  the  statement 
now,  is  probably  to  connect  the  new  name  with  the 
promise  given  him,  as  a  perpetual  memento,  for  the  same 
reason  that  Abram  was  changed  to  Abraham,  when  the 
same  promise  was  given  to  him.  And  here  we  may 
suggest,  that  this  change  in  the  name,  was  not  merely 
on  account  of  the  signilicancy  of  the  name  itself,  but  with 
a  view  to  bring  the  divine  promise  more  frequently  be- 
fore the  mind.  This  is  evident  from  the  change  in  the 
name  of  Abram's  wife,  from  Sarai  to  Sarah,  for  which  no 
reason  can  be  given  from  the  diflerence  between  the 
names,  though  the  reason  we  have  suggested  would 
apply  here  as  well  as  to  that  of  her  husband.  The  same 
purpose  was  had  in  view  in  this  case,  as  when  a  present 
was  exchanged  between  two  parties,  to  ratify  a  treaty, 
or  a  pillar  of  stones  set  up  for  the  same  purpose.  The 
difference  was  only  in  this,  that  the  one  was  a  transient 
occurrence,  and  was  commemorated  by  a  monument 
equally  transient ;  the  other  was  more  important  and 
enduring,  and  was  kept  in  memory  by  a  monument  more 
intimate  and  longer  continued. 

604.  We  remember  to  have  seen  the  opinion  expressed 
by  some  writer,  that  the  account  here  given  of  Jacob's 
visit  to  Bethel,  is  only  another  version  of  the  visit  made 
there  on  his  going  to  Padan-aram  ;  but  the  reason  for  this 
opinion  drawn  from  some  likeness  of  the  two  narratives, 
is  not  conclusive.  The  likeness  is  such  as  could  not  well 
be  avoided,  and  such  only  as  it  would  be  expected, 
allowing  both  to  have  occurred.  That  God,  having  ap- 
peared to  him  before,  and  promised  his  protection,  should 
now  appear  to  him  again,  is  what  might  be  expected ; 
and  with  such  appearance,  that  Jacob  should  build  again 
the  altar,  and  pour  thereon  a  drink-offering,  in  testimony 
of  his  gratitude,  was  a  natural  occurrence.  From  both 
passages,  too,  compared,  it  is  evident  that  Bethel  was  on 


JACOB  AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


327 


the  route  to  Padan-aram,  and  that  it  could  not  have  been 
far  from  the  return  route.  And  from  the  circumstances 
that  occurred  there  at  first,  Jacob  would  be  quite  likely  to 
visit  the  same  place  the  second  time. 


SECTION  XII.  —  Jacob's  Keturn  to  Isaac. 
CHAP.  XXXV. 


16.  IT  And  they  journeyed  from 
Bethel,  and  there  was  but  a  little 
•way  to  come  to  Ephrath ;  and  Ra- 
chel travailed,  and  she  had  hard 
labor. 

17.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
she  was  in  hard  labor,  that  the 
midwife  said  unto  her,  Fear  not; 
thou  shalt  have  this  son  also. 

18.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  her 
Boul  was  in  departing,  (for  she 
died)  that  she  called  his  name  Ben- 
oni:  but  his  father  called  him 
Benjamin. 

19.  And  Rachel  died,  and  was 
buried  in  the  way  to  Ephrath, 
which  is  Bethlehem. 

20.  And  Jacob  set  a  pillar  upon 
her  grave:  that  is  the  pillar  of 
Rachel's  grave  unto  this  day. 

21.  And  Israel  journeyed,  and 
spread  his  tent  beyond  the  tower 
of  Edar. 

22.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 


Israel  dwelt  in  that  land,  that  Reu- 
ben went  and  lay  with  Bilhah  his 
father's  concubine:  and  Israel 
heard  it.  Now  the  sons  of  Jacob 
were  twelve. 

23.  The  sons  of  Leah;  Reuben, 
Jacob's  first-born,  and  Simeon, 
and  Levi,  and  Judah,  and  Issachar, 

■  and  Zebulon : 

24.  The  sons  of  Rachel;  Joseph, 
and  Benjamin: 

25.  And  the  sons  of  Bilhah, 
Rachel's  handmaid;  Dan,  and 
Naphtali: 

'-c6.  And  the  sons  of  Zilpah, 
Leah's  handmaid;  Gad,  and  Ash- 
er.  These  are  the  sons  of  Ja- 
cob, which  were  born  to  him  in 
Padan-aram. 

27.  And  Jacob  came  unto  Isaac 
his  father  unto  I\Iamre,  unto  the 
city  of  Arbah,  which  is  Hebron, 
where  Abraham  and  Isaac  sojourn- 
ed 


605.  The  death  of  Rachel,  we  may  well  suppose, 
was  a  sad  bereavement  to  Jacob.  The  notice  of  this 
event,  and  of  the  occasion  of  it,  is  exceedingly  brief 
At  first,  we  are  surprised  that  this  favorite  wife  should 
have  been  buried  in  the  way  to  Ephrath,  and  not  in  the 
cave  of  Machpelah,  where  other  members  of  the  family 
had  been  laid,  and  which  had  by  that  means  acquired  a 
sanctit}'^  that  did  not  belong  to  any  other  place.  Still, 
when  we  consider  the  circumstances  of  her  death,  and 
the  distance  to  Hebron  that  yet  remained,  our  surprise  is 
removed.  One  token  of  respect  that  appears  not  to 
have  been  usual,  was  shown  to  the  burial  place  ;  and 
that  was  a  monument  over  the  grave,  that  remained  for  a 
considerable  period  afterwards. 


328  JACOB    AND     HIS    FAMILY. 

606.  "That  is  the  pillar  of  Rachel's  grave  unto  this 
day.''^  There  are  some  who  would  make  us  believe  that 
the  book  of  Genesis  was  written  nearly  or  quite  a  thou- 
sand years  after  the  event  here  recorded,  during  many 
hundreds  of  years  of  which  period,  the  land  was  in  the 
hands  of  stangers,  who  could  have  no  motive  for  pre- 
serving the  monument  over  Rachel's  grave,  and  a  part 
of  the  time  in  the  hands  of  enemies  that  might  feel  in- 
clined to  desecrate  it.  At  all  events  the  regular  changes 
that  might  be  expected  to  come  over  that  locality,  with- 
out any  hostile  intention,  would  obliterate  all  traces  of 
the  burial  place  and  the  monument,  in  much  less  time 
than  is  here  supposed.  The  truth  is,  the  circumstance  of 
Rachel's  death  was  recorded,  while  it  was  fresh  in  the 
memory  of  the  family,  and  the  fact  that  the  pillar  being 
set  up  over  her  grave  ;  and  a  subsequent  writer,  not  cer- 
tainly later  than  Moses,  added  the  clause  that  the  pillar 
remained  to  this  day. 

607.  What  is  contained  in  the  21st  verse,  is  probably 
misplaced.  It  belongs  more  properly  within  the  16th 
verse,  and  is  so  placed  in  the  Septuagint  version. 

608.  The  conduct  of  Reuben  has,  in  the  Greek,  a 
clause,  not  found  in  our  version,  representing  the  wick- 
edness of  his  son  as  "  grevious  in  the  sight  of  Jacob/^ 
as  doubtless  it  must  have  been. 

609.  The  twelve  sons  of  Jacob  are  said  to  have  been 
born  to  him  in  Padan-aram,  while  the  youngest,  it  had 
just  been  stated,  received  his  birth  near  Bethlehem. 
This  circumstance  shows  that  the  nicest  accuracy  was 
not  intended  by  the  writer.  Infidelity  has  sought  to 
make  something  out  of  this  circumstance.  It  seems  to 
us  quite  evident,  that  an  impostor  would  have  avoided  dis- 
crepances so  obvious,  while  the  honest  writer,  presuming 
on  the  candor  of  others,  would  be  ver^^  likely  to  have 
some  such  upon  his  pages,  where  no  one  could  be  misled 
by  them. 

610.  When  Jacob  left  home,  Isaac,  his  father,  was  at 
Beersheba,  xxviii.  10  ;  but  during  his  absence  he  had  re- 
sumed the  ancestral  residence  at  Hebron,  to  which  .place 
Jacob  now  returns,  and  finds  his  father  still  alive,  having 
attained  an  age  beyond  that  of  Abraham. 


JACOB    AND   HIS   FAMILY.  329 


SECTION  XIII.  —  Death  of  Isaac. 

CHAP.  XXXV. 

28.  And  the  days  of  Isaac  were  |  his  people,  being  old  and  fall  of 
an  hundred  and  fourscore  years.     |  days:  and  his  sons  Esau  and  Ja- 

29.  And  Isaac  gave  up  the  ghost,    cob  buried  him. 
and  died,  and  was  gathered  unto  | 

611.  That  Isaac  "  gave  up  the  ghost/'  has  nothing 
in  the  original  to  justify  precisely  that  rendering.  He 
expired  would  have  been  more  accurate.  That  he  "  vras 
gathered  to  his  people"  is  a  correct  rendering,  and 
seems  plainly  to  imply  the  belief  of  a  conscious  personal 
existence  beyond  this  life.  Observe,  that  being  gath- 
ered to  his  people,  has  no  reference  to  his  burial.  He 
was  gathered  to  his  people,  and  afterwards  buried  by  his 
sons,  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah. 

612.  The  presence  of  Esau  at  the  burial  of  his  father 
leads  to  two  conclusions.  One  is,  that  the  two  branches 
of  Isaac's  family  were  not  hostile  to  each  other.  Anoth- 
er is,  that  Mt.  Seir,  Esau's  residence,  was  probably  not 
very  far  from  Hebron.  Or,  if  one  is  disposed  to  think 
so,  he  may  believe,  what  is  quite  natural  under  the  cir- 
cumstances, that  Esau  was  with  his  father  in  his  ex- 
treme old  age,  awaiting  his  expected  departure,  and 
that  the  arrival  of  Jacob  was  hastened  by  the  same  con* 
sideration. 

SECTION  XIY.  — Joseph  sold  and  carried  to  Egypt. 


CHAP.  XXXVII. 

1.  And  Jacob  dwelt  in  the  land 
wherein  his  father  was  a  sti-anger, 
in  the  land  of  Canam. 

2.  IT  These  are  the  generations 
of  Jacob.  Joseph,  being  seventeen 
years  old,  was  feeding  the  flock 
with  his  brethren ;  and  the  lad  was 
with  the  sons  of  Bilhah,  and  with 


4.  And  when  his  brethren  saw 
that  their  father  loved  him  more 
than  all  his  >)i-ethren ,  they  hated 
him,  and  could  not  speak  peacea- 
bly unto  him. 

5.  And  Joseph  dreamed  a  dream, 
and  he  told  it  his  brethren:  and 
they  hated  him  yet  the  more. 


the  sons    of  Zilpah,  his    father's  i      6.    And  he  said  unto  them,  Hear, 


wives:   and  .Joseph    brought  unto 
his  father  their  evil  report. 

3.  Now  Israel  loved  Joseph  more 
than  all  his  children,  because  he 
was  the  son  of  his  old  age :  and  he 
made  him  a  coat  of  many  colors. 


I  pray  you,  this  dream  which  I 
have  dreamed : 

7.  For,  behold,  we  ivere  bind- 
ing shea\es  in  the  field,  and,  lo, 
my  sheaf  arose,  and  also  stood  up- 
right; and,  behold,  your  sheaves 


330 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


stood  round  about  and  made  obei-  | 
sance  to  my  sheaf.  | 

8.  And  his  brethren  said  to  him,  ] 
Shalt  thou  indeed  reign  over  us?  j 
or  shalt  thou  indeed   have  domin- 
ion over  us?    And  they  hated  him 
yet  the  more  for  his  dreams,  and 
for  his  words.  | 

9.  And  he  dreamed  yet  another  j 
dream,  and  told  it  his  brethren,  ' 
and  said,  Behold,  I  have  dreamed 
a  dream  more  ;  and,  behold,  the  } 
sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  eleven  i 
stars,  made  obeisance  to  me.  j 

10.  And  he  told  it  to  his  father  i 
and  to  his  brethren;  and  his  fath-  i 
er  rebuked  him,  and  said  unto  him,  j 
"What  is  this  dream  that  thou  hast  I 
dreamed  ?    Shall  I,  and  thy  moth- 
er, and  thy  brethren,  indeed  come 
to  bow  down  ourselves  to  thee  to 
the  earth. 

11.  And  his  brethren  envied  him; 
but  his  father  observed  the  saying. 

12  ^  And  his  brethren  went  to 
feed  their  father's  flock  in  She- 
chem. 

13.  And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph, 
Do  not  thy  brethren  feed  the  flock 
in  Shechem?  come,  and  I  will  send 
thee  unto  them.  And  he  said  to 
him,  Here  am  I. 

14.  And  he  said  to  him.  Go,  I 
pray  thee,  see  whether  it  be  well 
with  thy  brethren,  and  well  with 
the  flocks:  and  bring  me  word 
again.  So  he  sent  him  out  of  the 
vale  of  Hebron,  and  he  came  to 
Shechem. 

15.  And  a  certain  man  found 
him,  and,  behold,  he  was  wander- 
ing in  the  field  :  and  the  man  ask- 
ed him,  saying,  What  seekest  thou? 

1 6 .  And  he  said,  I  seek  my  breth- 
ren :  tell  me,  I  pray  thee,where  they 
feed  their  flocks. 

17.  And  the  man  said.  They  are 
departed  hence;  for  I  heard  them 
say.  Let  us  go  to  Dothan.  And 
Joseph  went  after  his  brethren  and 
found  them  in  Dothan. 

18  And  when  they  saw  him  afar 
ofi",  even  before  he  came  near  unto 
them,  they  conspired  against  him 
to  slay  him. 


19.  And  they  said  one  to  anoth- 
er. Behold  this  dreamer  cometh. 

'20.  Gome  now,  therefore,  and 
let  us  slay  him,  and  cast  him  into 
some  pit;  and  we  will  say,  Some 
evil  beast  hath  devoured  him;  and 
we  shall  see  what  will  become  of 
his  dreams. 

21.  And  Reuben  heard  it,  and  he 
delivered  him  out  of  their  hands; 
and  said,  Let  us  not  kill  him. 

22.  And  Reuben  said  unto  them. 
Shed  no  blood,  but  cast  him  into 
this  pit  that  is  in  the  wilderness, 
and  lay  no  hand  upon  him;  that 
he  might  rid  him  out  of  their 
hands,  to  deliver  him  to  his  father 
again. 

23.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
Joseph  was  come  unto  his  breth- 
ren, that  they  stript  Joseph  out 
of  his  coat,  his  coat  of  many  col- 
ors, that  was  on  him. 

24.  And  they  took  him,  and  cast 
him  into  a  pit:  and  the  pit  was 
empty,  there  was  no  water  in  it. 

25.  And  they  sat  down  to  eat 
bread :  and  they  lifted  up  their  eyes, 
and  looked,  and,  behold,  a  compa- 
ny of  Ishmaelites  came  from  Gil- 
ead,  with  their  camels  bearing 
spicery  and  balm  and  myrrh,  go- 
ing to  carry  it  down  to  Egypt. 

26.  And  Judah  said  unto  his 
brethren,  What  profit  is  it  if  we 
slay  our  brother,  and  conceal  his 
blood? 

27.  Come,  and  let  us  sell  him  to 
the  Ishmaelites,  and  let  not  our 
hand  be  upon  him,  for  he  is  our 
brother  and  our  flesh;  And  his 
brethren  were  content. 

28.  Then  there  passed  by  Midian- 
ites,  merchantmen ;  and  they  drew 
and  lifted  up  Joseph  out  of  tlie 
pit,  and  sold  Joseph  to  the  Ish- 
maelites for  twenty  pieces  of  silver; 
and  they  brought  Joseph  into 
Egypt. 

29.  And  Reuben  returned  unto 
the  pit:  and,  behold,  Joseph  icas 
not  in  the  pit;  and  he  rent  his 
clothes: 

30.  And  he  returned  unto  his 
1 


and  killed  a  kkl  of  the  goats,  and 
dipped  the  coat  in  tlie  blood ; 

32.  And  they  sent  the  coat  of 
vuiny  colors,  and  they  brought  it 
to  their  father;  and  said  fliishave 
we  found;  know  now  whether  it  be 
thy  son's  coat  or  no. 

33.  And  he  knew  it,  and  said,  it 


JACOB   AND    HIS    FAMILY.  331 

''31  'AnltiroytokJ^eph'scoat,    and   mourned  for    his  son  many 

'    days.  ,     „  ,  . 

35.  And  all  his  sons  and  all  his 
daughters  rose  up  to  comfort  him ; 
but  he  refused  to  be  comforted; 
and  he  said.  For  I  will  go  down 
into  the  grave  unto  my  son  mourn- 
ing.    Thus  his  father  wept  for  him. 

36.  And  the  Midianites  sold  him 
tsmvS)n's7oat7an  evil  beast  hath  into  Egypt  ^^^o  Potiphar ,  an  of. 
de  ou?2i  him:  Joseph  is  without  ficer  of  Pharoah's,  and  captain 
doubt  rent  in  pieces.                          1  of  the  guard. 

613      ''  Jacob  dwelt  in  the  land  wherein   his  father 
was  a"  stranger,  in    the    land  of   Canaan"    .  One  won  d 
suDDOse  that  Isaac,  the  father  of  Jacob,  having  dwelt  in 
the'Cd  o'f'  Canaan  the  whole  of  his  life  of  180  years^ 
could  not  well  be  called  a  stranger  m  the  land.     But,  in 
the  sense  of  that  term   here   employed,  and  elsewhere  m 
this  book,  he  was  a  stranger  :  since  he  was  ^/^t  one  of  the 
original  settlers,  but  came   from   a  distant  land      And  it 
may  be  added  that  the  frequent  references  of  t  ns  kind 
seem  to  furnish  a  formidable  objection  to   the  theory  of 
some,  that  would  make   the  land  of  Canaan  to  have  be- 
longed originally  to  the  Hebrew  people.     This  theory  is 
adopted  to  furnish  justification  to   the  Israelites,  when 
they  returned  from  Egypt,   for  retaking  Canaan  and  put- 
ting its  inhabitants    to   the    sword.     The   people  of  Ca- 
naan, it  is  said,  were   not   the    original  settlers  but  only 
occupied  certain  points   as  trading  posts  ;  and  therefore, 
they  could  set  up   no   opposing   claim^  to  the   Israelites 
This  idea  is   set  aside    by  several   circumstances      ihe 
first  grant  of  the  land  to   Abram,   contains   a  mention  ot 
its  several  tribes,  viz  :  the  Kenites.  and  Kemzzites,  and 
Kadmonites,  and  Hittites,  and  Perizzites   and  Rephaims 
and  Amorites,  and  Canaanites,  and  Girgashites,  and  Jebu- 
sites      So,  too,  in  the  account  we  have  of  the  war  ol  the 
confederate  kings,  mention  is  made  of  the  Amorites  and 
other  tribes  ;   and  that  these  kings  and  their  armies,  weie 
employed  in  laying  waste  a  few  trading  posts,  does  not 
accord  with  the  spirit  of  the  narrative. 

614      The  best  explanation  we  know  ot,  ot  the  con- 
duct of  the  children   of  Israel   when  they   came   from 


332  JACOB  AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

Egypt  to  Canaan,  is,  that  He  who  owns  all  lands,  had 
given  them  this  country,  and  instructed  them  to  regain 
its  possession.  Again  ;  what  meaning  shall  be  attaclicd 
to  the  circumstance  of  Abram's  purchase  of  Machpelah 
for  a  burial  place,  xxiii.  16,  and  of  Jacob  buying  a  tract 
of  land  of  Ilamor  near  Shalem,  xxxiii.  19,  if  the  country 
was   not  the  possession  of  the  people  ? 

The  true  explanation  of  this  subject  seems  to  be,  that 
the  Canaanites,  including  all  the  tribes  before  named, 
were  the  true  inhabitants  of  Canaan  —  that  the  ground 
was  theirs,  as  much  as  any  land  belongs  to  any  man  or 
set  of  men  —  that  Abram  and  his  family  could  settle 
there  only  by  the  consent  of  the  people  —  that  in 
process  of  time,  when  the  iniquity  of  the  Amorites  was 
full,  they  would  forfeit  all  claim  to  the  land,  and  it  would 
then  become  the  possession  of  the  Israelites,  and  that  it 
was  in  view  of  this  prospective  possession,  that  the  land 
was  given  to  them  by  God.  It  is  certain  that  the  pa- 
triarchs so  understood  the  gift,  else  why  offer  to  pur- 
chase what  was  already  theirs,  and  of  which  they  held 
the  title  from  the  original  owner.  And  with  this  view  ; 
and  with  the  fullest  confidence  that  the  grant  of  the  coun- 
try to  them  was  divine,  they  went  up  from  Egypt  to  take 
possession  of  the  country.  Besides  :  if  the  Israelites 
had  a  just  title  to  Canaan,  on  natural  grounds,  what  fitness 
was  there  in  making  a  formal  gift  of  it  to  them  on  the 
part  of  Jehovah.  The  gift  is  offered  on  the  presumption 
that,  without  it,  they  could  not  claim  the  possession. 

615.  Bilhah  and  Zilpah  are  here  mentioned  as  Jacob's 
wives,  not  because  they  were  such  in  the  highest  sense  of 
that  term;  but,  as  the  mothers  of  a  portion  of  his  children, 
they  were  such.  And  when  it  is  added,  that  Joseph 
brought  home  their  evil  report,  the  reference  seems  to 
be,  and  perhaps  is,  only  to  the  sons  of  the  handmaids, 
who  might  have  been,  and  would  naturally  be,  more  in- 
censed at  Jacob's  partiality  for  Joseph,  than  the  rest  of 
his  sons,  and  might  have  been  the  instigators  of  the  cruel 
plot  formed  against  him. 

616.  The  coat  of  many  colors  has  been  the  occasion  of 
considerable  discussion,   but  without  bringing  us  to  any 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY.  333 

other  conclusion,  than  that  it  was  a  coat  of  many  colors. 
The  form  c;f  the  coat,  what  it  was  that  constituted  its 
many  colors,  are  questions  that  we  cannot  answer ;  and 
moreover  they  are  questions  that  do  not  require  an  answer. 
The  efiect  of  the  partiality  of  Jacob  was  as  natural,  as 
was  the  partiality  itself,  and  as  unfortunate,  for  the  time 
being  at  least,  as  it  was  natural. 

617.  The  dreams  of  Joseph  were  either  natural,  and 
were  subsequently  verified  as  a  remarkable  Providence, 
like  many  dreams  at  the  present  day ;  or  they  were  a 
divine  impulse,  indicating  his  future  elevation  and  ful- 
filled accordingly.  Either  supposition  is  not  inconsistent 
with  the  spirit  of  the  times.  The  last  dream  was  under- 
stood to  include  his  mother,  among  those  that  were  to  bow- 
down  to  Joseph,  but  his  mother  was  dead  and  buried  in 
the  way  to  Ephrath.  How  then  could  the  dream  be  ful- 
filled?*^ Perhaps  the  reference  was  to  Leah,  as  we  have 
yet  had  no  account  of  her  death.  This  could  not  be  ;  for 
though  we  have  no  account  of  her  death,  yet  it  is  certain 
that  she  did  die  before  the  dream  was  fulfilled,  and  was 
buried  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah,  according  to  a  subse- 
quent statement. 

618.  The  explanation  is  that  dreams,  as  well  as  para- 
bles, must  not  be  made  "  to  go  on  all  fours."  We  may 
interpret  them  with  a  greater  strictness  than  they  were 
intended  to  be  interpreted.  The  design  of  the  dreams  of 
Joseph,  allowing  them  the  claim  to  inspiration,  was  to 
indicate  the  elevation  of  Joseph  over  the  rest  of  the 
family  ;  and  this  design  was  truly  fulfilled,  though  every 
item  in  the  dream,  may  not  find  its  corresponding  partic- 
ular in  the  fulfilment. 

619.  The  feeding  of  the  flocks  in  Shechem,  was  a 
natural  circumstance,  from  the  fact  that  they  had  occupied 
that  region  of  country  on  a  former  occasion,  xxxv.  4  ;  and 
that  having  exhausted  the  pasturage  there,  they  should 
go  to  another  place,  was  another  natural  circumstance 
attaching  itself  to  their  mode  of  life.  The  location  of 
Dothan  can  only  be  determined  by  two  circumstances. 
One  is,  that  it  was  not  far  from  Shechem  ;  and  another 
is,  that  it  lay  on  the  route  from  Gilead  to  Egypt,  a  route 
that  Jacob   and  his  family  had  recently  passed  over  in 


331  JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

coming  from  Padan-aram  to  Hebron.  The  place  is  made 
sufficiently  memorable,  by  the  plot  against  Joseph,  here 
brought  to  view. 

620.  It  will  be  seen  that  Reuben,  the  oldest  of  Jacob's 
sons,  joined  in  the  conspiracy,  only  with  an  ultimate  pur- 
pose of  saving  the  boy,  and  delivering  him  to  his  father. 
And  the  suggestion  of  Judah  seems  to  have  been  dictated 
by  the  same  spirit,  when  he  proposed  to  sell  him  as  a  slave 
to  the  Ishmaelites,  that  being  the  choice  of  two  evils. 

621.  The  merchantmen  are  called  Ishmaelites,  from 
being  the  descenda,nts  of  Ishmael ;  and  they  are  called 
Midianites,  probably  from  the  country  to  which  they 
belonged. 

622.  It  appears  that,  after  the  determ.ination  to  cast 
Joseph  into  the  pit,  suggested  by  Reuben,  the  latter  had 
returned  to  his  own  flocks,  and  had  not  known  the  change 
of  purpose  on  the  part  of  his  brethren  :  and  when  he  finds 
the  pit  empty,  at  the  time  when  he  expected  to  deliver 
him  from  their  malice  and  return  him  to  his  father,  he  is 
greatly  distressed,  supposing,  it  would  seem,  that  he  had 
been  destroyed  by  wild  beasts,  or  taken  out  and  killed  by 
his  brethren.  And  it  does  not  appear  that  he  was  inform- 
ed of  the  true  state  of  the  case,  till  after  the  disclosure  in 
Egypt.  At  least  his  language  to  his  brethren  in  Egypt, 
clearly  conveys  this  idea  : —  "  Spake  I  not  unto  you,  say- 
ing, Do  not  sin  against  the  child  ;  and  ye  would  not  hear  ; 
therefore  behold  also  his  blood  is  reauiredJ^  xlii.  22. 

623.  "All  Jacob's  sons  and  all  his  daughters  went  up 
to  comfort  him."  But,  saj^s  one,  all  his  daughters  were 
only  Dinah,  as  we  read  of  no  others.  We  remark  that 
the  wives  of  his  sons  may  be  here  referred  to,  and  we  so 
find  them  designated,  xlvi.  15.  It  is  also  evident  that  he 
had  grand-daughters  when  he  went  down  to  Egypt ;  and 
may  have  had  such,  at  the  time  of  this  occurrence  with 
Joseph  ;  and  in  Scripture  parlance  these  would  be  called 
his  daughters. 

624.  Joseph  was  sold  to  Potiphar,  an  officer  of  Pharaoh 
and  captain  of  the  guard.  Slaves  were  common  in  Egypt, 
at  least  we  find  them  there,  on  the  first  visit  of  Abraham 
to  that  country ;  and  they  were  among  the  presents  he 
received  from   the   king.     The   present   of  servants   to 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


335 


Abraham  on  his  departure  from  Egypt,  and  the  selling  of 
Joseph  to  Potiphar,  are  two  circumstances  quite  unlike, 
and  both  are  introduced  very  naturally  in  the  narrative, 
and  with  no  apparent  relation  to  each  other ;  yet  they 
harmonize  perfectly  in  respect  to  the  fact  of  servants  or 
slaves  beng  bought  and  sold,  and  regarded  as  property 
in  that  country  ; —  an  undesigned  coincidence  going  to 
establish  the  truth  of  the  narrative.     Compare  pp.  34-37. 

SECTION  XV.  —  Digression  concerning  Judah. 


CHAP.    XXXVIIL 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  that 
time,  that  Judah  went  down  from 
his  brethren,  and  turned  in  to  a 
certain  AduUamite,  whose  name 
was  Hirah. 

2.  And  Judah  saw  there  a  daugh- 
ter of  a  certain  Canaanite,  whose 
name  was  Shuah ;  and  he  took  her, 
and  went  into  unto  her. 

3.  And  she  conceived,  and  bare 
a  son;  and  he  called  his  name  Er. 

4.  And  she  conceived  again,  and 
bare  a  son ;  and  she  called  his  name 
Onan. 

5.  And  she  yet  again  conceived, 
and  bare  a  son;  and  called  his 
name  Shelah :  and  he  was  at  Che- 
zib,  when  she  bare  him. 

6.  IT  And  Judah  took  a  wife  for 
Er  his  firstborn,  whose  name  was 
Tamar. 

7.  And  Er,  Judah's  firstborn, 
was  wicked  in  the  sight  of  the 
Lord;  and  the  Lord  slew  him. 

8.  And  Judah  said  unto  Onan, 
Go  in  unto  thy  brother's  wife,  and 
marry  her,  and  raise  up  seed  to 
thy  brother. 

9.  And  Onan  knew  that  the  seed 
should  not  be  his;  and  it  came  to 
pass,  when  he  went  in  unto  his 
brother's  wife,  that  he  spilled  it  on 
the  ground,  lest  that  he  should 
give  seed  to  his  brother, 

10.  And  the  thing  which  he  did 
displeased  the  Lord:  wherefore  he 
slew  him  also. 

11.  Then  said  Judah  to  Tamar 
his    daughter-in-law.    Remain    a 


widow  at  thy  father's  house,  till 
Shelah  my  son  be  grown:  (for  he 
said,  Lest  peradventure  he  die  also , 
as  his  brethren  did:)  and  Tamar 
went  and  dwelt  in  her  father's 
house. 

12.  IT  And  in  process  of  time  the 
daughter  of  Shuah,  Judah's  wife 
died;  and  Judah  was  comforted, 
and  went  up  unto  his  sheep-shear- 
ers to  Timnath,  he  and  his  friend 
Hirah  the  AduUamite. 

13.  And  it  was  told  Tamar,  say- 
ing. Behold  thy  father-in-law  go- 
eth  up  to  Timnath  to  shear  his 
sheep. 

14.  And  she  put  her  widow's 
garments  off  from  her,  and  cov- 
ered her  with  a  veil,  and  wrapped 
herself,  and  sat  in  an  open  place, 
which  is  by  the  way  to  Timnath; 
for  she  saw  that  Shelah  was  grown, 
and  she  was  not  given  unto  him  to 
wife. 

15.  When  Judah  saw  her,  he 
thought  her  to  be  an  harlot;  because 
she  had  covered  her  face. 

16.  And  he  turned  unto  her  by 
the  way,  and  said,  Go  to,  I  pray 
thee,  let  me  come  in  unto  thee;  (for 
he  knew  not  that  she  was  his  daugh- 
ter-in-law;) And  she  said.  What 
wilt  thou  give  me,  that  thou  may- 
est  come  in  unto  me? 

17.  And  he  said,  I  will  send  thee 
a  kid  from  the  flock.  And  she 
said,  Wilt  thou  give  me  a  pledge, 
till  thou  send  it  ? 

18.  And  he  said.  What   pledge 


336 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


shall  I  give  thee?  And  she  said, 
Thy  signet,  and  thy  bracelets,  and 
thy  staff  that  is  in  thy  hand.  And 
he  gave  it  her,  and  came  in  unto 
her,  and  she  conceived  by  him. 

19.  And  she  arose,  and  went 
away,  and  laid  by  her  veil  from 
her,  and  put  on  the  garments  of 
her  widowhood. 

20.  And  Judah  sent  the  kid  by 
the  hand  of  his  friend  the  Adulla- 
mite,  to  receive  his  pledge  from 
the  woman's  hand:  but  he  found 
her  not. 

21.  Then  he  asked  the  men  of 
that  place,  saying,  Where  is  the 
harlot,  that  was  openly  by  the 
way  side?  And  they  said,  There 
was  no  harlot  in  this  place. 

22.  And  he  retui-ned  to  Judah, 
and  said,  I  cannot  find  her;  and 
also  the  men  of  the  place  said,  that 
there  was  no  harlot  in  this  place. 

23.  And  Judah  said.  Let  her  take 
it  to  her,  lest  we  be  shamed;  be- 
hold, I  sent  this  kid,  and  thou  hast 
not  found  her. 

24.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  about 
three  months  after,  that  it  was  told 
Judah,  saying,  Tamar  thy  daugh- 
ter-in-law hath  played  the  harlot; 
and  also,  behold,  she  is  with  child 


by  whoredom.  And  Judah  said. 
Bring  her  forth,  and  let  her  be 
burnt. 

25.  When  she  was  brought  forth, 
she  sent  to  her  father-in-law,  say- 
ing. By  the  man,  whose  these  are, 
am  I  with  child:  and  she  said.  Dis- 
cern, I  pray  thee,  whose  are  these, 
the  signet,  and  bracelets,  and  staff. 

26.  And  Judah  acknowledged 
them,  and  said,  Slie  hath  been  more 
righteous  than  I;  because  that  I 
gave  her  not  to  Shelah  my  son. 
And  he  knew  her  again  no  more- 

27.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
time  of  her  travail,  that,  behold, 
twins  were  in  her  womb. 

28.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
she  travailed,  that,  the  one  put  out 
his  hand :  and  the  midwife  took  and 
bound  upon  his  hand  a  scarlet 
thread,  saying.  This  came  out  first. 

29.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he 
drew  back  his  hand,  that,  behold, 
his  brother  came  out:  and  she  said, 
How  hast  thou  broken  forth  ?  this 
breach  be  upon  thee:  therefore  his 
name  was  called  Pharez. 

30.  And  afterward  came  out  his 
brother,  that  had  the  scarlet  thread 
upon  his  hand:  and  his  name  was 
called  Zarah. 


625.  ''It  came  to  pass  at  that  time.^'  We  need  not 
suppose  a  reference  here  to  the  particular  time  of  Joseph's 
being  sold  into  Egypt.  Joseph  was  seventeen  j'ears  old 
when  the  diflSculty  occurred  with  his  brethren.  He  was 
thirty  when  promoted  in  Egypt.  Then  succeeded  seven 
years  of  plenty  and  two  years  of  famine,  before  Jacob  went 
down  with  his  family  to  that  country .  This  was  twenty-two 
years  from  the  time  that  Joseph  was  sold  ;  and  at  the  time 
of  going  to  Egypt,  we  learn  that  Judah  had  some  sons 
and  grand-sons,  which  ma}^  oblige  us  to  refer  the  transac- 
tions of  this  chapter  farther  back  than  the  selling  of  Joseph. 

And  we  feel  the  more  at  liberty  to  adopt  this  view, 
because,  what  is  here  recorded,  is  not  a  part  of  the  regu- 
lar narrative,  but  a  sort  of  episode,  and  need  not,  there- 
fore, be  very  intimately  connected,  by  dates  or  otherwise, 
with  the  record  which  it  interrupts. 


JACOB    AND   HIS    FAMILY. 


337 


626.  The  custom  here  referred  to,  with  respect  to  mar- 
riage, is  simply  stated,  while  the  reasons  are  left  to  con- 
jecture. It  will  doubtless  be  remembered  that  this  custom 
was  the  basis  of  an  objection  to  the  resurrection,  once 
urged  against  the  Saviour,  by  the  Sadducees. 

627.  The  scarlet  thread  was  intended  to  show  whi(Ji 
of  the  twins  was  first  born  ;  that  being  an  important 
circumstance  with  the  people  of  those  days,  as  we  have 
often  had  occasion  to  remark.  And  though  the  occasion 
of  the  birth  of  these  twins,  might  have  been  omitted,  the 
omission  would  have  occasioned  a  break  in  the  genealogy 
of  our  Saviour.     Matt.  i.  3. 


SECTION  XVI.— Joseph  Tempted. 


CHAP.  XXXIX. 


1.  And  Joseph  was  brought 
down  to  Egypt;  and  Potiphar,  an 
officer  of  Pharaoh,  captain  of  the 
guard,  an  Egyptian,  bought  him 
of  the  hands  of  the  Ishmaelites, 
which  had  brought  him  down 
thither. 

2.  And  the  Lord  was  with  Jo- 
seph, and  he  was  a  prosperous 
man;  and  he  was  in  the  house  of 
his  master  the  Egyptian. 

3.  And  his  master  saw  that  the 
Lord  was  with  him,  and  that  the 
Lord  made  all  that  he  did  to  pros- 
per in  his  hand. 

4.  And  Joseph  found  grace  in  his 
sight,  and  he  served  him:  and  he 
made  him  overseer  over  his  house, 
and  all  that  he  had  he  put  into 
his  hand. 

5.  And  it  came  to  pass  from  the 
time  that  he  had  made  him  over-  j 
seer  in  his  house,  and  over  all  that 
he  had,  that  the  Lord  blessed  the 
Egyptian's  house  for  Joseph's  sake ; 
and  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  was 
upon  all  that  he  had  in  the  house, 
and  in  the  field. 

6  And  he  left  all  that  he  had,  in 
Joseph's  hand;  and  he  knew  not 
aught  he  had,  save  the  bread  which 

15 


he  did  eat.      And  Joseph  was  a 
goodly  person,  and  well-favored. 

7.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  after 
these  things,  that  his  master's  wife 
cast  her  eyes  upon  Joseph ;  and  she 
said,  Lie  with  me. 

8.  But  he  refused,  and  said  unto 
his  master's  wife.  Behold,  my  mas- 
ter wotteth  not  what  is  with  me  in 
the  house,  and  he  hath  committed 
all  that  he  hath  to  my  hand ; 

9.  There  is  none  greater  in  the 
house  than  I:  neither  hath  he  kept 
l>ack  any  thing  from  me  but  thee, 
because  thou  art  his  wife:  how 
then  can  I  do  this  great  wicked- 
ness, and  sin  against  God  ? 

10.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  she 
spake  to  Joseph  day  by  day,  that 
he  hearkened  not  unto  her,  to  lie 
by  her,  or  to  be  with  her. 

11.  And  it  came  to  pass  about 
this  time,  that  Joseph  went  into  the 
house  to  do  his  business;  and  there 
was  none  of  the  men  of  the  house 
there  within. 

12.  And  she  caught  him  by  his 
garment,  saying,  Lie  with  me:  and 
he  left  his  garment  in  her  hand, 
and  fled,  and  got  him  out. 

13.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 


338 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


she  saw  that  he  had  left  his  gar- 
ment in  her  hand,  and  was  tied 
forth, 

14.  That  she  called  unto  the  men 
of  her  liouse,and  spake  unto  them, 
saying.  See,  he  has  brought  in  an 
Hebrew  unto  us  to  mock  us;  he 
came  in  unto  me  to  lie  with  me, 
and  I  crietl  with  a  loud  voice: 

15.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
he  heard  th:it  I  lifted  up  my  voice 
and  cried,  tiiat  he  left  his  garment 
with  me,  and  lied,  and  got  him  out. 

16.  And  slio  laid  up  his  garment 
by  her  until  his  lord  came  home. 

17.  And  she  spake  unto  him  ac- 
cording to  these  words,  saying, 
The  Hebrew  servant,  which  thou 
hast  brought  unto  us,  came  in  unto 
me  TO  mock  me: 

18.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  I 
lifted  up  my  voice  and  cried,  that 
he  left  his  garment  with  me,  and 
fled  out. 

19.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 


his  master  heard  the  words  of  hia 
!  wife,  which  she  spake  unto  him, 
saying.  After  tliis  manuer  did  thy 
servant  to  me;  that  his  wrath  was 
kindled. 

20.  And  Joseph's  master  took 
him,  and  put  him  into  the  prison, 
a  place  where  the  king's  prisoners 
were  bound:  and  he  was  there  in 
the  prison. 

21.  IT  But  the  Lord  was  with  Jo- 
seph, and  shewed  him  mercy,  and 
gave  him  favor  in  the  sight  of  the 
keeper  of  the  prison. 

22.  And  the  keeper  of  the  prison 
committed  to  Joseph's  hand  all  the 
prisoners  that  were  in  the  prison: 
and  whatsoever  they  did  there,  he 
was  the  doer  of  it. 

23.  The  keeper  of  the  prison 
looked  not  to  any  thing  that  was 
under  his  hand;  because  the  Lord 
was  with  him,  and  that  which  he 
did,  the  Lokd  made  it  to  prosper. 


628.  The  promotion  of  Joseph  in  the  house  of  Potiphar, 
was  a  natural  result  of  his  faithfulness  ;  nor  was  there  any 
thing  in  the  state  of  society  in  Egypt,  that  would  inter- 
fere with  his  promotion.  Indeed  the  state  of  society  was 
precisely  such  as  would  lead  to  this  result.  The  labor 
being-  done  mostly  by  servants,  it  would  be  a  very  grati- 
fying circumstance  to  find  one  that  could  take  charge  of 
the  rest,  and  conduct  all  the  affairs  in  his  hands,  with 
wisdom  and  prudence.  But  his  promotion  was  only  the 
promotion  of  a  servant,  and  must  be  so  understood. 

629.  The  crime  charged  upon  Joseph  by  the  wife  of 
Potiphar,  one  would  suppose,  would  have  subjected  the 
offender  to  a  severer  punishment  than  was  here  inflicted. 
We  feel  surprised  that  Joseph  was  not  immediately  exe- 
cuted ;  and  we  are  inclined  to  suspect  that  there  was 
some  good  reason  for  this  lenity.  1  apprehend  we  shall 
not  be  far  from  the  truth,  if  we  regard  Potiphar  as  enter- 
taining some  suspicions  of  Joseph's  innocence,  or  at  least 
presuming  on  some  palliating  circumstances  of  which  his 
wife  did  not  inform  him.  A  woman,  so  far  gone  in  crime, 
as  she  must  have  been,  could  hardly  have  been  regarded 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


B39 


by  her  husband  as  perfectly  reb'able.  Add  to  this,  that 
Joseph's  former  conduct  would  naturally  incline  the  mas- 
ter to  exercise  towards  his  servant  some  degree  of  lenity. 
What  confirms  this  opinion,  is,  the  promotion  of  Joseph 
in  prison  ;  since'this  same  Potiphar,  we  infer  from  auotiier 
passage,  had  charge  of  the  prison.  Compare  xl.  3,  4. 
It  is  hardly  supposable  that  Joseph,  for  such  a  crime, 
would  have  been  only  imprisoned,  in  such  a  country,  and 
under  such  a  government  as  Egypt,  unless  there  were 
strong  suspicions  of  his  innocence.  It  is  quite  as  hard  to 
believe,  that  the  same  officer  he  had  offended,  should  place 
him  over  all  the  prisoners  in  his  hands. 

SECTION  XVII.  —  Dreams  of  the  Butler  and  Baker. 
CHAP.  XL. 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass  after 
these  things,  that  the  butler  of  the 
king  of  Egypt  and  his  baker  had 
offended  their  lord  the  king  of 
Egypt. 

2.  And  Pharaoh  was  wroth 
against  two  of  his  officers,  against 
the  chief  of  the  butlers,  and  against 
the  chief  of  the  bakers. 

3.  And  he  put  them  in  ward  in 
the  house  of  the  captain  of  the 
guard,  into  the  prison,  the  place 
where  Joseph  was  bound. 

4.  And  the  captain  of  the  guard 
charged  Joseph  with  them,  and  he 
served  them:  and  they  continued  a 
season  in  ward. 

5.  IT  And  they  dreamed  a  dream, 
both  of  them,  each  man  his  dream 
in  one  nicht,  each  man  according 
to  the  interpretation  of  his  dream, 
the  butler  and  the  baker  of  the 
king  of  Egypt,  which  were  bound 
in  the  prison. 

6.  And  Joseph  came  in  unto 
them  in  the  morning,  and  looked 
upon  them,  and  behold,  they  were 
sad. 

7.  And  he  asked  Pharaoh's  offi- 
cers that  were  with  him  in  the  ward 
of  his  lord's  house,  saying.  Where- 
fore look  ye  so  sadly  to-day  ? 


8.  And  they  said  unto  him,  We 
have  dreamed  a  dream,  and  there 
is  no  interpreter  of  it.  And  Joseph 
said  unto  them,  Do  not  interpreta- 
tions belong  to  God?  tell  me  them, 
I  pray  you. 

9.  And  the  chief  butler  told  his 
dream  to  Joseph,  and  said  to  him. 
In  my  dream,  behold,  a  vine  was 
before  me; 

10.  And  in  the  vine  were  three 
branches :  and  it  was  as  though  it 
budded,  and  her  blossoms  shot 
forth;  and  the  clusters  thereof 
brought  forth  ripe  grapes: 

11.  And  Pharaoh's  cup  was  in 
my  hand:  and  I  took  the  grapes, 
and  pressed  them  into  Pharaoh's 
cup,  and  I  gave  the  cup  into  Pha- 
raoh's hand. 

12.  And  Joseph  said  unto  him. 
This  is  the  interpretation  of  it:  The 
three  branches  are  three  days: 

13.  Yet  within  three  days  shall 
Pharaoh  lift  up  thy  head,  and  re- 
store thee  unto  thy  place:  and  thou 
shalt  deliver  Pharaoh's  cup  into 
his  hand,  after  the  former  manner 
when  thou  wast  his  butler. 

14.  But  think  on  me  when  it 
shall  be  well  with  thee,  and  shew 
kindness,  I  pray  thee,  unto  me. 


340 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


and  make  mention  of  me  unto  Pha- 
raoh, and  bring  me  out  of  this 
house: 

15.  For  indeed  I  was  stolen  away 
out  of  the  land  of  the  Hebrews: 
and  here  also  have  I  done  nothing 
that  they  should  put  me  into  the 
dungeon. 

15.  \Vhen  the  chief  baker  saw 
that  the  interpretation  was  good, 
he  said  unto  Joseph,  I  also  was  in 
my  dream,  and,  behold,  /  had  three 
white  baskets  on  my  head: 

17.  xVnd  in  the  uppermost  basket 
there  was  of  all  manner  of  bake- 
meats  for  Pharaoh ;  and  the  birds 
did  eat  them  out  of  the  basket  upon 
my  head. 

18.  And  Joseph  answered  and 
said,  This  is  the  interpretation 
thereof:  The  three  baskets  are 
three  days : 


19.  Yet  within  three  days  shall 
Pharaoh  lift  up  thy  head  from  off 
thee,  and  shall  hang  thee  on  a  tree; 
and  the  birds  shall  eat  thy  flesh 
fi'om  otf  thee. 

20.  And  it  came  to  pass  the  third 
day,  ivhich  was  Pharaoh's  birth- 
day, that  he  made  a  feast  unto  all 
his  servants:  and  he  lifted  up  the 
head  of  the  chief  butler  and  of  the 
chief  baker  among  his  servants. 

21.  And  he  restored  the  chief 
butler  unto  his  butlership  again; 
and  he  gave  the  cup  into  Pharaoh's 
hand: 

22.  But  he  hanged  the  chief  ba- 
ker, as  Joseph  had  interpreted  to 
them. 

23.  Yet  did  not  the  chief  butler 
remember  Joseph,  but  forgat  him. 


630.  It  was  the  business  of  one  of  these  men  to  super- 
intend the  drinJcing  department  of  Pharaoh's  court,  and 
the  other  the  eating  department.  And  as  they  were 
chiefs  in  these  departments,  the  inference  is,  that  they 
had  a  number  of  subordinates  ;  and  this  fact  indicates  the 
ma2:nificence  of  the  court  which  they  served. 

631.  That  the  dreams  here  mentioned  were  divine, 
need  not,  I  apprehend,  be  supposed  :  though  it  is  difficult 
to  understand  how  Joseph  could  have  known  the  future 
of  these  men,  without  divine  aid.  The  result  verified  his 
interpretation,  and  was  the  distant  cause  of  his  own 
deliverance.  I  infer  that  the  chief  baker  was  first  decap- 
itated, and  then  his  body  suspended  to  a  tree.  Compare 
verses  19  and  22. 

632.  The  request  of  Joseph  to  be  remembered  by  the 
butler,  was  very  natural :  and  it  was  quite  unnatural  that 
he  should  have  been  forgotten.  There  are  many  suppos- 
ablc  circumstances,  however,  that  render  the  forgetful- 
ness  of  the  butler  a  credible  event.  lie  was  doubtless 
quite  delighted  with  his  own  liberty.  There  might  have 
been  circumstances  rendering  it  dangerous  for  him  to 
interfere  in  a  matter  of  that  kind.  Besides,  the  man  ask- 
ing the  favor,  was  only  a  servant ;  and  though  his  position 


JACOB  AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


341 


in  prison  might  make  his  favor  an  object,  yet  out  of  prison 
no  such  motive  couhi  avail. 

633.  That  Joseph  was  stolen  from  his  own  land,  has 
reference  to  the  secret  manner  in  which  he  was  disposed 
of,  with  reference  to  his  father,  and  is  not  to  be  considered 
an  implication  of  those  who  bought  him  as  a  slave. 

SECTION  XVIII.  —  Pharaoh's  Dreams. 


CHAP.  XLI. 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass  at  the  end 
of  two  full  years,  that  Pharaoh 
dreamed:  and  behold,  he  stood  by 
the  river. 

2.  And  behold,  there  came  up 
out  of  the  river  seven  well-f^xvored 
kine  and  fot-fleshed ;  and  they  fed 
in  a  meadow. 

3.  And  behold,  seven  other  kine 
came  up  after  them  out  of  the 
river,  ill-favored  and  lean-fleshed ; 
and  stood  by  the  other  kine  upon 
the  brink  of  the  river. 

4.  And  the  ill-favored  and  lean- 
fleshed  kine  did  eat  up  the  seven 
well-favored  and  fat  kine.  So  Pha- 
raoh awoke, 

5.  And  he  slept  and  dreamed  the 
second  time:  and  behold,  seven  ears 
of  corn  came  up  upon  one  stalk, 
rank  and  good. 

6.  And  behold,  seven  thin  ears 
and  blasted  with  the  east  wind 
sprung  up  after  them. 

7.  And  the  seven  thin  ears  de- 
voured the  seven  rank  and  full 
ears.  And  Pharaoh  awoke,  and 
behold,  it  was  a  dream. 

8.  And  it  came  to  pass  in  the 
morning  that  his  spirit  was  trou- 
bled ;  and  he  sent  and  called  for  all 
the  magicians  of  Egypt,  and  all  the 
wise  men  thereof:  and  Pharaoh 
told  them  his  dream ;  but  there  ivas 
none  that  could  interpret  them  un- 
to Pharaoh. 

9.  IT  Then  spake  the  chief  butler 
unto  Pharaoh,  spying,  I  do  remem- 
ber my  faults  this  diy: 

10.  Pharaoh  was  wroth  with  his 
Bervants,  and  put  me  in  ward  in 


the  captain  of  the  guard's  house, 
both  me  and  the  chief  baker: 

11.  And  we  dreamed  a  dream  in 
one  night,  I  and  he;  we  dreamed 
each  man  according  to  the  inter- 
pretation of  his  dream. 

12.  And  there  was  there  with  us 
a  young  man,  an  Hebrew,  servant 
to  the  captain  of  the  guard;  and 
we  told  him,  and  he  interpreted  to 
us  our  dreams;  to  each  man  ac- 
cording to  his  dream  he  did  inter- 
pret. 

13.  And  it  came  to  pass,  as  he 
interpreted  to  us,  so  it  was;  me  he 
restored  unto  mine  oJEce,  and  him 
he  hanged. 

14.  •[[  Then  Pharaoh  sent  and 
called  Joseph,  and  they  brought 
him  hastily  out  of  the  dungeon: 
and  he  shaved  hhn  self,  and  chang- 
ed his  raiment,  and  came  in  unto 
Pharaoh. 

15.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, I  have  dreamed  a  dream, 
and  there  is  none  that  can  inter- 
pret it:  and  I  have  heard  say  of 
thee,  that  thou  canst  understand  a 
dream  to  interpret  it. 

16.  And  Joseph  answered  Pha- 
raoh, saying.  It  is  not  in  me  :  God 
shall  give  Pharaoh  an  answer  of 
peace. 

17.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, In  my  dream,  behold,  I  stood 
upon  the  bank  of  the  river: 

18.  And  behold,  there  came  up 
out  of  the  river  seven  kine,  fat- 
fleshed  and  well-favored;  and  they 
fed  in  a  meadoAv: 

19.  And  behold,  seven  other  kine 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


came  up  after  them ,  poor  and  very 
ill-fivored  and  lean-fleshed,  such 
as  I  never  saw  in  all  the  land  of 
Egypt  for  badness: 

20.  And  the  lean  and  the  ill-fa- 
vored kinc  did  eat  up  the  first 
seven  fit  kine: 

21.  And  when  they  had  eaten 
them  up,  it  could  not  be  known 
that  they  had  eaten  them;  but  they 
ivci-e  still  ill-fivorel,  as  at  the  be- 
ginning.    So  I  awoke. 

22.  And  I  saw  in  my  dream, 
and  behold,  seven  ears  came  up  in 
one  stalk,  full  and  good: 

23.  And  behold,  seven  ears,  with- 
ei*ed,  thin,  and  blasted  with  the 
east  wind,  sprung  up  after  them: 

24.  And  the  thin  ears  devoured 
the  seven  good  ears:  and  I  told  this 
unto  the  magicians;  but  there  was 
none  that  could  declai'e  it  to  me. 

25.  IT  And  Joseph  said  unto  Pha- 
raoh, The  dream  of  Pharaoh  is 
one:  God  hath  shewed  Pharaoh 
what  he  is  about  to  do. 

26.  The  seven  good  kine  are  se- 
ven years;  and  the  seven  good  ears 
are  seven  years:  the  dream  is  one. 

27.  And  the  seven  thin  and  ill- 
favored  kine  that  came  up  after 
them  are  seven  years;  and  the  se- 
ven empty  ears  blasted  with  the 
east  wind  shall  be  seven  years  of 
famine. 

28.  This  is  the  thing  which  I 
have  spoken  unto  Pharaoh:  What 


God  is  about  to  do  he  shcwcth  i;n- 
to  Pharaoh. 

29.  Behold,  there  come  seven 
years  of  great  plenty  throughout 
all  the  land  of  Egypt: 

30.  And  there  shall  arise  after 
them  seven  years  of  famine;  and 
all  the  plenty  shall  be  forgotten  in 
the  land  of  Egypt;  and  the  fimine 
shall  consume  the  land; 

31.  And  the  plenty  shall  not  be 
known  in  the  land  by  reason  of  that 
famine  following;  for  it  shall  be 
very  grievous. 

32.  And  for  that  the  dream  was 
doubled  unto  Pharaoh  twice;  it  is 
because  the  thing  is  established  by 
God,  and  God  will  shortly  bring  it 
to  pass. 

33.  Now  therefore  let  Pharaoh 
look  out  a  man  discreet  and  wise, 
and  set  him  over  the  land  of  Egypt. 

34.  Let  Pharaoh  do  this,  and  let 
him  appoint  officers  over  the  land, 
and  take  up  the  fifth  part  of  the 
land  of  Egypt  in  the  seven  plen- 
teous years. 

35.  And  let  them  gather  all  the 
food  of  those  good  years  that  come, 
and  lay  up  corn  under  the  hand  uf 
Pharaoh,  and  let  them  keep  food 
in  the  cities. 

36.  And  that  food  shall  be  for 
store  to  the  land  against  the  seven 
years  of  famine,  which  shall  be  in 
the  land  of  Egypt;  that  the  land 
perish  not  through  the  fimine. 


634.  ''At  the  end  of  two  full  years,"  refers  probably 
to  the  time  Joseph  had  been  in  prison.  The  "river"  is 
not  named,  for  the  reason  that  every  body  would  know 
what  river  was  intended.  The  Nile  was  had  in  view 
without  doubt.  The  seven  lean  kine,  devouring  the  fat 
kine,  is  in  perfect  keeping"  with  the  nature  of  dreams, 
wherein  things  natural  and  unnatural  are  brought  before 
the  mind.  The  reference  to  the  magicians  and  wise  men 
shows  that  there  was  a  class  of  men  in  Egypt,  thought  to 
be  skilled  in  the  interpretation  of  dreams  ;  and  the  confi- 
dence placed  in  them,  may  be  the  reason  why  this  should 
have  been  made  the  instrument  of  Joseph's  elevation. 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


343 


Nothing  could  have  introduced  him  sooner  to  the  confi- 
dence of  the  king. 

635  Pharaoh's  spirit  was  troubled  at  his  dreams. 
They  were  well  fitted  to  trouble  him.  They  showed  a 
bad  result ;  and  that  was  understood  as  an  omen  of  evil. 
And  the  interpretation  Joseph  gave,  commended  itself  so 
obviously  to  his  understanding,  and  his  suggestions  as  to 
what  was  best  to  be  done,  so  exactly  met  the  emergency, 
that  the  king  did  not  hesitate  to  adopt  the  plan  and  enter 
upon  its  execution. 

636.  ^' He  shaved  himself  and  changed  his  raiment." 
From  that  time  to  this,  it  has  been  common  to  treat  pris- 
oners in  a  manner  somewhat  peculiar,  in  regard  to  their 
clothing  and  personal  habits.  It  would  seem  that,  in  the 
prison  1n  Egypt,  men  did  not  shave  ;  and  besides  that 
they  wore  some  peculiar  garment.  Still  nothing  more 
may  be  intended  than  that  Joseph  prepared  himself  to 
make  a  respectable  appearance  before  the  king,  without 
justifying  the  inference  above  drawn. 

637.  It  is  worthy  of  being  noticed  that,  while  Joseph 
has  an  opportunity  "of  getting  to  himself  some  credit  for 
his  sagacity,  he  disclaims  all  knowledge  of  dreams,  ex- 
cept what  God  is  pleased  to  communicate  to  him. 

638.  That  a  fifth  part  of  the  product  of  the  seven 
years  of  plenty,  would  suffice  during  the  seven  years  of 
famine,  might  seem  to  us  incredible  ;  but  it  must  be 
remembered  that  the  seven  plenteous  years  were  very 
productive  ;  and  the  amount  raised  might  have  been 
greater  on  account  of  the  expectation  that  a  famine  would 
succeed  :  for  if  the  king  and  court  believed  that  a  famine 
was  coming,  and  were  making  preparations  for  it,  it  is 
reasonable  to  conclude  that  many  of  the  people  would 
have  the  same  opinion,  and  would  make  their  arrange- 
ments accordingly.  If  it  be  said  that  the  people  seem  not 
to  have  made  any  extra  provision,  we  reply  that  there  is 
a  seeming  of  this  kind.  But  I  suspect  that  "  that  year" 
xlvii.  lY,  and  "the  second  year,"  verse  18,  were  not  the 
first  and  second  of  the  seven,  but  the  last  two.  This  is 
made  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  food  for  the  ''  second 
year"  was  bought  with  the  only  thing  the  people  had 
left,  "  their  bodies  and  lands  ;"  and  the  continuance  of 


141 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


the  famine  after  that,  is  not  mentioned.  Another  circum- 
stance, showing-  the  same  thing,  is,  that  the  Israelites 
came  into  Eg^^pt  at  the  end  of  two  years  of  the  famine  ; 
and  their  being  nourished  by  Joseph,  during  the  famine, 
is  mentioned  in  advance  of  the  two  years  called  "  that 
year''  and  the  "  second." 

Another  thing.  The  Canaanites  were  in  distress  before 
two  years  came  round,  and  had  been  twice  to  Egypt  f •  r 
food,  the  reason  of  which  is,  that,  with  them,  no  famine 
was  expected.  But  the  Egyptians  were  not  pressed  with 
want  till  a  later  period,  which  is  readily  accounted  for 
upon  our  view  that,  being  admonished,  they  made  pre- 
parations accordingly,  not  the  one  fifth  merely,  as  re- 
quired by  Joseph,  but  a  larger  amount,  on  their  own 
account. 

SECTION  XIX.  — Joseph  placed  over  the  Land. 


CHAP.  XLI. 


37.  IT  And  the  thing  was  good  in 
the  eyes  of  Pharaoh,  and  in  the 
eyes  of  all  his  servants. 

38.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  his 
servants,  Can  we  find  such  an  one 
as  this  is,  a  man  in  whom  the  spirit 
of  God  is  ? 

39.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, Forasmuch  as  God  hath 
shewed  thee  all  this,  there  is  none 
so  discreet  and  wise  as  thou  art  : 

40.  Thou  shalt  be  over  my  house, 
and  according  unto  thy  word  shall 
all  my  people  be  ruled:  only  in 
the  throne  will  I  be  greater  than 
thou. 

41.  And  Pharoah  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, See,  I  have  set  thee  over  all 
the  land  of  Eirypt. 

42.  And  Pharaoh  took  off  his 
ring  from  his  hand,  and  put  it 
upon  Joseph's  hand,  and  arrayed 
him  in  vestures  of  fine  linen,  and 
put  a  gold  chain  about  his  neck; 

43.  And  he  made  him  to  ride  in 
the  second  chariot  which  he  had: 
and  they  cried  before  him.  Bow 
the  knee;  and  he  made  him  ruler 
over  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 


44.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, I  am  Pharaoh,  and  without 
thee  shall  no  man  lift  up  his  hand 
or  foot  in  all  the  land  of  Egypt. 

45.  And  Pharaoh  called  Joseph's 
name  Zaphnath-paaneab:  and  he 
gave  him  to  wifeAsenath  the  daugh- 
ter of  Poti-pherah  priest  of  On ; 
and  Joseph  went  out  over  all  the 
land  of  Egypt. 

46.  IT  And  Joseph  was  thirty 
years  old  when  he  stood  bcfi)re 
Pharaoh  king  of  Egyjjt:  and  Jo- 
seph went  out  from  the  presence  of 
Pharaoh,  and  went  throughout  all 
the  land  of  Egypt. 

47  And  in  the  seven  plenteous 
years  the  earth  brought  forth  by 
handfuls. 

48.  And  he  gathered  up  all  the 
food  of  the  seven  years  Avlaich  were 
in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  laid  up 
the  food  in  the  cities:  the  food  of 
the  field  which  was  round  about 
every  city,  laid  he  up  in  the  same. 

49.  And  Joseph  gathered  corn  as 
the  sand  of  the  sea,  very  much,  un- 
til he  left  numbering,  for  it  was 
without  number. 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


345 


50.  And  unto  Joseph  were  born 
two  sons  before  the  years  of  famine 
came;  which  Asenath  the  daughter 
of  Poti-pherah  priest  of  On  bare 
unto  him. 

51.  And  Joseph  called  the  name 
of  the  first  born  Manasseh ;  for  God, 
said  he,  hath  made  me  forget  all 
my  toil,  and  all  my  father's  house. 

52.  And  the  name  of  the  second 
called  he  Ephraim:  For  God  hath 
caused  me  to  be  fruitful  in  the  land 
of  my  affliction. 

53.  IT  And  the  seven  years  of 
plenteousness  that  was  in  the  land 
of  Egypt,  were  ended. 

54.  And  the  seven  years  of  dearth 
began  to  come,  according  as  Jo- 


seph had  said ;  and  the  dearth  was 
in  all  lands;  but  iu  all  the  land  of 
Egypt  there  was  bread. 

55.  And  when  all  the  land  of 
Egypt  was  famished,  the  people 
cried  to  Phtiraoh  for  bread:  and 
Pharaoh  said  unto  all  the  Egypt- 
ians, Go  unto  Joseph,  what  he  saith 
to  you,  do. 

56.  And  the  famine  was  over  all 
the  face  of  the  earth:  and  Joseph 
opened  all  the  stoi-e-houses,  and 
sold  unto  the  Egyptians ;  and  the 
famine  waxed  sore  in  the  land  of 

i^gypt. 

57.  And  all  countries  came  into 
Egypt  to  Joseph  for  to  buy  corn; 
because  that  the  famine  was  so 
sore  in  all  lands. 


639.  "There  is  none  so  discreet  and  wise  as  thou.'^ 
We  do  not  think  that  Pharaoh's  reasoning  is  entirely 
sound,  if  he  had  in  view,  as  the  basis  of  his  conclusion, 
the  single  fact  that  Joseph  had  interpreted  his  dreams  ; 
for  we  see  no  necessary  connection  between  that,  and  a 
fitness  to  manage  the  affairs  of  state.  But  the  suggestions 
of  Joseph,  as  to  what  was  best  under  the  circumstances, 
were  such  as  to  commend  themselves  to  the  judgment  of 
any  man  :  and  this,  in  connection  with  his  former  man- 
agement, both  in  the  house  of  Potiphar,  and  in  the  prison, 
may  have  had  an  influence  to  determine  the  course  of  the 
king. 

640.  The  ring,  and  fine  linen,  and  gold  chain,  were 
badges  of  authority  ;  and  were  necessary  to  establish  his 
authority  with  the  people.  So  with  the  second  chariot, 
and  the  injunction  to  ''  bow  the  knee.''  The  chariot  is 
probably  called  "  second,"  as  having  some  mark  to  indi- 
cate that  Joseph  was  only  second  to  the  king. 

641.  The  name  given  to  Joseph  was  probably  signifi- 
cant of  his  position  ;  but  its  exact  meaning  is  not  well 
determined.  It  was  probably  an  Egyptian  designation, 
and  is  to  be  known  only  by  reference  to  the  language  of 
that  country. 

642.  "  The  priest  of  On."  On  is,  in  the  Septuagint, 
Ileliopolis.     It  is  mentioned  only  once  or  tw^ice  in  Genesis; 

15-^ 


34G 


JACOB    AND     HIS    FAMILY. 


a:id    its    location    caiiDot   be    determined     by  these   in- 
stances. 

643.  We  infer  that  the  food,  said  to  be  gathered  up  in 
all  the  land,  was  nut  merely  the  one-filth  mentioned 
before,  but  all  that  could  be  spared  ;  while  the  fifth  part 
was  reserved  for  the  king,  and  it  was  this  last  that  helped 
to  supply  the  people  after  the  rest  was  gone,  during  the 
last  two  or  three  years  of  the  famine. 

SECTION  XX.  —  First  Journey  to  Egypt. 
CHAP.  XLII. 


1.  Now  when  Jacob  saw  that 
there  was  coin  in  Egypt,  Jacob 
said  unto  his  sons.  Why  do  ye  look 
one  upon  another? 

2.  And  he  s.iid,  Behold,  I  have 
heard  that  there  is  corn  in  Egypt: 
get  you  down  thither,  and  buy  for 
us  from  tlience;  that  we  may  live, 
and  not  die. 

3.  IT  And  Joseph's  ten  brethren 
went  down  to  buy  corn  in  Egypt. 

4.  But  Benjamin,  Joseph's  bro- 
ther, Jacob  sent  not  with  his  bre- 
thi-en;  for  he  said.  Lest  peradven- 
ture  mischief  befall  him. 

5.  And  the  sons  of  Israel  came 
to  buy  corn  among  those  that 
came:  for  the  famine  was  in  the 
land  of  Canaan. 

6.  And  Joseph  icas  the  governor 
over  the  land,  and  lie  //  was  that 
sold  to  all  the  people  of  the  land: 
and  Ji»3ci)h's  brethren  came  and 
bowed  down  themselves  before  him 
with  their  fices  to  the  earth. 

7.  An  1  Joseph  saw  his  brethren, 
and  he  knew  them,  but  made  him- 
self strange  unto  them,  and  spake 
roughly  unto  them;  and  he  said 
unto  tliem,  Whence  come  ye?  And 
they  Slid,  From  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan to  buy  food. 

8.  And  Joseph  knew  his  bre- 
thren, but  they  knew  not  him. 

9.  And  Josepli  remembered  the 
dreams  which  lie  dreamed  of  them, 
and  said  unto  the.n,  Yc  arc  spies; 


to  see  the  nakedness  of  the  land  ye 
are  come. 

10.  And  they  said  unto  him.  Nay, 
my  lord,  but  to  buy  food  are  thy 
servants  come. 

11.  We  are  all  one  man's  sons; 
we  are  true  men,  thy  servants  are 
no  spies. 

12.  And  he  said  unto  them,  Nay, 
but  to  see  the  nakedness  of  the 
land  ye  are  come. 

13.  And  they  said,  Thy  servants 
are  twelve  brethren,  the  sons  of 
one  man  in  the  land  of  Canaan; 
and  behold,  the  youngest  is  this 
day  with  our  ftither,  and  one  is 
not. 

14.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them, 
That  ts  it  that  I  spake  unto  you, 
saying,  Ye  are  spies: 

15.  Hereby  ye  shall  be  proved: 
By  the  life  of  Pharaoh  ye  sliall  not 
go  forth  hence,  except  your  young- 
est brother  come  hither. 

16.  Send  one  of  you,  and  let  him 
fetch  your  brother,  and  ye  shall  be 
kept  in  prison,  that  your  words 
may  be  proved,  Avhether  there  be 
any  truth  in  you:  or  else  by  the 
life  of  Pharaoh  surely  ye  are  spies. 

17.  And  he  put  them  all  together 
into  ward  three  days. 

18.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them 
the  third  day,  This  do  and  live; /or 
I  fear  God : 

19.  If  ye  be  trnc  men,  let  one  of 
your    brethren   be   bound   in    the 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


house  of  your  prison;  go  ye,  carry 
coru  for  the  famine  of  your  liouses : 

20.  But  bring  your  youngest 
brother  unto  me;  so  shall  your 
words  be  verified,  and  ye  shall  not 
die.     And  they  did  so, 

21.  And  they  said  one  to  ano- 
ther. We  are  verily  guilty  concern- 
ing our  brother,  in  that  we  saw 
the  anguish  of  his  soul,  when  he 
besought  us,  and  we  would  not 
hear ;  therefore  is  this  distress  come 
upon  us. 

22.  And  Reuben  answered  them, 
saying,  Spake  I  not  unto  you,  say- 
ing. Do  not  sin  against  the  child; 
and  ye  would  not  hear?  therefore, 
behold,  also  his  blood  is  required. 

23.  And  they  knew  not  that  Jo- 
seph unde^-stood  them  ;  for  he  sjjake 
unto  them  by  an  interpreter. 

24.  And  he  turned  himself  about 
from  them,  and  wept;  and  re- 
turned to  them  again,  and  com- 
muned with  them,  and  took  from 
tJieip  Simeon,  and  bound  him  be- 
fore their  eyes. 

25.  IT  Then  Joseph  commanded 
to  fill  their  sacks  with  corn,  and 
to  restore  every  man's  money  into 
his  sack,  and  to  give  them  pro- 
vision for  the  way:  and  thus  did  he 
unto  them. 

26.  And  they  laded  their  asses 
with  the  corn,  and  departed  thence. 

27.  And  as  one  of  them  opened 
his  sack  to  give  his  ass  provender 
in  the  inn,  he  espied  his  money; 
for,  behold,  it  was  in  his  sack's 
mouth. 

28.  And  he  said  unto  his  breth- 
ren. My  money  is  restored ;  and  lo, 
it  is  even  in  my  sack:  and  their 
heart  failed  JAewi,  and  they  were 
afraid,  saying  one  to  another, 
What  is  this  that  God  hath  done 
unto  us  ? 

29.  IT  And  they  came  unto  Jacob 


their  father  unto  the  land  of  Ca- 
naan, and  told  him  all  that  befell 
unto  them,  saying, 

30.  'J  he  iiiHii,  who  is  the  lord  of 
the  land,  sjjake  roughly  to  us,  and 
took  us  for  spies  of  the  country. 

3J.  And  we  said  unto  him.  We 
are  true  men  ;  we  are  no  spies: 

32.  We  be  twelve  brethren,  sons 
of  our  father;  one  is  not,  and  the 
youngest  is  this  day  with  our  fa- 
ther in  the  land  of  Canaan. 

33.  And  the  man,  the  lord  of  the 
country,  said  unto  us,  Hereby  shall 
I  know  that  ye  are  lYVLemen  ;  leave 
one  of  your  brethren  here  with  me, 
and  take  food  for  the  famine  of 
your  households,  and  be  gone: 

34.  And  bring  your  youngest  bro- 
ther unto  me;  then  shall  I  know 
that  ye  are  no  spies,  but  that  ye 
are  true  men;  so  will  I  deliver 
you  your  brother,  and  ye  shall 
traffic  in  the  land. 

35.  IT  And  it  came  to  pass  as  they 
emptied  their  sacks,  that  behold, 
every  man's  bundle  of  money  was 
in  his  sack:  and  when  both  they 
and  their  father  saw  the  bundles  of 
money,  they  were  afraid. 

36.  And  Jacob  their  father  said 
unto  them.  Me  have  ye  bereaved 
of  my  children  :  Joseph  is  not,  and 
Simeon  is  not,  and  ye  will  take 
Benjamin  away :  all  these  things 
are  against  me. 

37.  And  Reuben  spake  unto  his 
father,  saying.  Slay  my  two  sons, 
if  I  bring  him  not  to  thee:  deliver 

I  him  into  my  hand,  and  I  will  bring 
j  him  to  thee  again. 
I  38.  And  he  said,  My  son  shall 
j  not  go  down  with  you;  for  his  bro- 
I  ther  is  dead,  and  he  is  left  alone:"  if 
i  mischief  befall  him  by  the  way  in 
I  the  which  ye  go,  then  shall  ye 
bring  down  my  grey  hairs  with 
I  sorrow  to  the  grave. 


644.  It  appears  from  several  instances  recorded  in  Gen- 
esis, that  going  to  Egypt  for  supplies  during  famine,  was 
not  an  unusual  occurrence.  And  the  reason  why  Egj^pt 
was  more  highly  favored,  in  this  respect,  than  Canaan 


348  JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

and  other  lands,  was  that  its  fertility  did  not  depend  upon 
rains  falling  directly  upon  the  land,  but  upon  the  over- 
flowing of  the  Nile.  And  though  the  lack  of  rain,  at  its 
source,  would  in  time  lessen  its  waters  and  prevent  the 
overflowing  of  the  land,  and  thereby  occasion  a  famine, 
yet  this  would  require  a  considerable  period  ;  and  when 
such  an  event  occurred,  it  would  evidently  last  a  no  less 
period.  Hence,  a  seven  years  of  plenty,  when  the  Nile 
overflowed  the  land,  and  made  its  productions  abundant, 
followed  by  as  long  a  period  of  dearth,  was  a  natural 
occurrence  for  that  country  ;  though  there  is  probably  no 
other  land  on  the  eartli  where  such  a  thing  would  be  likely 
to  occur,  except  by  a  miracle. 

645.  That  Joseph  should  know  his  brethren,  and  they 
not  know  him,  may  seem  at  first  a  little  strange  :  but 
Joseph  was  of  an  age  to  change  more  than  most  of  his 
brethren  who  were  older ;  and  besides,  the  fashion  of 
his  clothing  was  probably  quite  different  from  theirs  ;  to 
which  we  may  add  the  ornaments  he  wore,  as  badges  of 
authority,  all  which  would  tend  to  disguise  him  in  the 
presence  of  his  brethren.  lie  was  familiar  with  their 
dress  and  appearance  ;  but  they  were  not  familiar  with 
his. 

646.  The  suspicion  that  the  brethren  may  have  come 
"to  see  the  nakedness  of  the  land,"  was  one  of  the  best 
devices  that  was  possible,  as  the  existence  of  a  famine 
there  would  seem  to  justify  the  charge  :  for  it  was  not 
to  be  presumed,  by  Joseph's  brethren,  that  there  had 
been  any  special  preparations  for  supplying  the  country, 
in  such  an  emergency. 

647.  "One  is  not,''  —  that  is,  one  is  dead.  That 
was  the  story  they  had  all  along  told  ;  and  they  tell  it 
now,  to  keep  up  the  appearance  of  consistency.  There 
are  two  additional  reasons  for  this.  One  is,  that  the 
eldest  brother  Reuben,  and  perhaps  some  of  the  others, 
had  not  yet  known  but  that  Joseph  was  killed  :  and  it 
was  not  best  to  inform  them.  Another  is,  that  the  facts 
of  the  case  would  not  be  likely  to  increase  the  good  opin- 
ion they  would  have  the  Egyptian  ruler  entertain  of 
them. 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY.  349 

648.  "  By  the  life  of  Pharaoh,"  was  the  strongest 
form  of  oath  known  in  Egypt.  It  was  equivalent  to  say- 
ing,  **  The  life   of  the   king  be   sacrificed,  rather  than 

what  I  say  prove  untrue." 

649.  Joseph  says  that  he  fears  God  ;  and  he  therefore 
suggests  retaining  one  of  the  brethren  as  a  hostage, 
and'allowing  the  rest  to  go  back  to  Canaan,  and  carry 
food  to  their  families  ;  whereas  be  might,  in  view  of  his 
suspicions,  have  kept  them  all,  save  one  to  go  and  bring 
the  youngest  brother,  as  he  had  first  proposed. 

650.  "We  are  verily  guilty."  Observe,  that  when 
they  allude  to  the  anguish  of  Joseph,  they  are  careful 
not  to  drop  a  word  about  his  fate  ;  and  Reuben,  hearmg 
them,  supposes  they  allude  to  his  death,  and  makes  his 
remarks  according  to  this  supposition. 

651.  The  language  of  Egypt  was  different  from  the 
language  of  Canaan.  Therefore  the  "interpreter"  al- 
luded to. 

652.  Why  Simeon  was  selected  as  the  hostage  rather 
than  either  of  the  others  may  not  be  certain.  It  may  be 
on  account  of  his  being  the  oldest,  except  Reuben  ;  and 
the  latter  Joseph  would  be  disposed  to  favor  for  his  good 
intentions,  while  the  rest  were  plotting  his  destruction. 
Besides,  the  absence  of  this  brother  might  be  less  dis- 
tressing to  the  father,  as  he  had  greatly  incurred  the  old 
man's  displeasure  in  the  sacking  of  Shalem. 

653.  This  is  the  only  place  where  inns  are  mentioned 
in  this  book.  The  character  of  the  establishment  cannot 
be  justly  inferred  from  this  single  instance.  That  the 
travellers  fed  their  own  provender,  is  expressly  stated  ; 
and  being  furnished  in  Egypt  with  provisions  for  the  way, 
would  also  indicate  that  these  things  were  not  expected 
to  be  obtained  at  the  inns  along  the  route.  Still,  the  cir- 
cumstances were  extraordinary,  and  extraordinary  ar- 
rangements had  to  be  made.  In  times  of  plenty  the  inns 
may  have  supplied  these  accommodations. 

654.  It  would  seem  that  one  only  had  the  money  "in 
the  mouth  of  the  sack,"  while,  with  the  rest,  it  was  at 
the  bottom,  where  they  would  not  be  likely  to  find  it,  till 
they  reached  home. 


350 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


655.  "  Slay  my  tv/o  sons."  When  Reuben  went  down 
to  l^gypt  he  had  four  sons  ;  but  when  this  language 
occurred  he  may  have  had  but  two.  The  proposition  was 
an  emphatic  way  of  giving  the  old  man  the  assurance  that 
Benjamin  should  be  returned. 

656.  With  sorrow  to  the  grave,  to  Sheol,  the  place  of 
the  dead.     See  pp.  65-67. 

SECTION  XXI.  — Second  Descent  to  Egypt. 


CHAP.  XLIII. 


1.  And  the  famine  was  sore  in 
the  land. 

2.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
they  had  eaten  up  the  corn  which 
they  had  brought  out  of  Egypt, 
their  father  said  unto  them,  Go 
again,  buy  us  a  little  food. 

3.  And  Judah  spake  unto  him, 
saying.  The  man  did  solemnly  pro- 
test unto  us,  saying.  Ye  shall  not 
see  my  face,  except  your  brother 
be  with  you. 

4.  If  thou  wilt  send  our  brother 
with  us,  we  will  go  down  and  buy 
thee  food: 

5.  But  if  thou  wilt  not  send  him 
"we  will  not  go  down :  for  the  man 
said  unto  us.  Ye  shall  not  see  my 
face,  except  your  brother  be  with 
you. 

6.  And  Israel  said.  Wherefore 
dealt  ye  so  ill  with  me,  as  to  tell  the 
man  whether  ye  had  yet  a  brother  ? 

7.  And  they  said.  The  man  asked 
us  straitly  of  our  state,  and  of  our 
kindred,  saying.  Is  your  father  yet 
alive?  have  ye  ariother  brother? 
and  we  tohl  him  according  to  the 
tenor  of  these  words:  Could  we 
certainly  know  that  he  would  say, 
Bring  your  brother  down  ? 

8.  And  Judah  said  unto  Israel  liis 
fither,  Send  the  lad  with  me,  and 
we  will  arise  and  go ;  that  we  may 
live,  and  not  die,  both  we,  and 
thou,  and  also  our  little  ones. 

9.  I  will  be  surety  for  him;  of  my 
hand  shalt  thou  require  him  :  If  I 
bring  him  not  unto  thee,  and  set 


him  before  thee,  then  let  me  bear 
the  blame  for  ever; 

10.  For  except  we  had  lingered, 
surely  now  we  had  returned  this 
second  time. 

11.  And  their  father  Israel  said 
unto  them,  If  it  must  be  so  now,  do 
this ;  take  of  the  best  fruits  in  the 
land  in  your  vessels,  and  carry 
down  the  man  a  present,  a  little 
balm,  and  a  little  honey,  spices,  and 
myrrh,  nuts,  and  almonds: 

12.  And  take  double  money  in 
your  hand;  and  the  money  that 
was  brought  again  in  the  mouth  of 
your  sacks,  carry  it  again  in  your 
hand;  peradventure  it  was  an 
ovei'siirht : 

13.  Take  also  your  brother,  and 
arise,  go  again  unto  the  man. 

14.  And  God  Almighty  give  you 
mercy  before  the  man,  that  he  may 
send  away  your  other  brother,  and 
Benjamin.  If  I  be  bereaved  o/wy 
children,  I  am  bereaved. 

15.  IT  And  the  men  took  that 
present,  and  they  took  double  mon- 
ey in  their  hand,  and  Benjamin; 
and  rose  up,  and  went  down  to 
Egypt,  and  stood  before  Joseph. 

16.  And  when  Joseph  saw  Ben- 
jamin with  them,  he  said  to  the  ru- 
ler of  his  house.  Bring  these  men 
home,  and  slay,  and  make  ready; 
for  these  men  shall  dine  with  me  at 
noon. 

17.  And  the  man  did  as  Joseph 
bade;  and  the  man  brought  the 
men  into  Joseph's  house. 


JACOB   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


351 


18.  And  the  men  were  afraid, 
because  they  were  brought  into 
Joseph's  house;  and  they  said, 
Because  of  the  money  that  was  re- 
turned in  our  sacks  at  the  first 
time  are  we  brought  in;  that  he 
may  seek  occasion  against  us,  and 
fall  upon  us,  and  take  us  for  bond- 
men, and  our  asses. 

19  IT  And  they  came  near  to  the 
steward  of  Joseph's  house,  and 
they  com  :.uned  Avith  him  at  the 
door  of  the  house. 

20.  And  said,  O  sir,  we  came  in- 
deed down  at  the  first  time  to  buy 
food: 

21.  And  it  came  to  pass,  when 
we  came  to  the  inn,  that  we  opened 
our  sacks,  and  behold,  every  man's 
money  was  in  the  mouth  of  his 
sack,  our  money  in  full  weight: 
and  we  have  brought  it  again  in 
our  hand. 

22.  And  other  money  have  we 
brought  down  in  our  hands  to  buy 
food:  we  cannot  tell  who  put  our 
money  in  our  sacks. 

23.  And  he  said,  Peace  ie  to  you, 
fear  not:  your  God,  and  the  God 
of  your  father,  hath  given  you 
treasure  in  your  sacks :  I  had  your 
money.  And  he  brought  Simeon 
out  unto  them. 

24.  And  the  man  brought  the 
men  into  Joseph's  house,  and  gave 

^ihem  water,  and  they  washed  their 
'feet;  and  he  gave  their  asses  prov- 
ender. 

25.  And  they  made  ready  the 
present  against  Joseph  came  at 
noon:  for  they  heard  that  they 
should  eat  bread  there. 

26.  And  when  Joseph  came  home, 
they  brought  him  the  present 
which  was  in  their  hand  into  the 


house,  and  bowed  themselves  to 
him  to  the  earth. 

27.  And  he  asked  them  of  their 
welfare,  and  said.  Is  your  father 
well?  the  old  man  of  whom  ye 
spake,  is  he  yet  alive? 

28.  And  they  answered.  Thy  ser- 
vant our  father  is  in  good  health, 
he  is  yet  alive :  and  they  bowed 
down  their  heads,  and  made  obei- 
sance. 

29.  And  he  lifted  up  his  eyes, 
and  saw  his  brother  Benjamin,  his 
mother's  son,  and  said.  Is  this 
your  younger  brother,  of  whom 
ye  spake  unto  me  ?  And  he  said , 
God  be  gracious  unto  thee,  my 
son. 

30.  And  Joseph  made  haste ;  for 
his  bowels  did  yearn  upon  his 
brother:  and  he  sought  where  to 
weep ;  and  he  entered  into  his  cham- 
ber, and  wept  there. 

31.  And  he  washed  his  face,  and 
went  out,  and  refrained  himself, 
and  said.  Set  on  bread. 

32.  And  they  set  on  for  him  by 
himself,  and  for  them  by  them- 
selves, and  for  the  Egyptians  which 
did  eat  with  him  by  themselves; 
because  the  Egyptians  might  not 
eat  bread  with  the  Hebrews :  for 
that  is  an  abomination  unto  the 
Egyptians. 

33 .  And  they  sat  before  him,  the 
first-born  according  to  his  birth- 
right, and  the  youngest  according 
to  his  youth:  and  the  men  mar- 
velled one  at  another. 

34.  And  he  took  and  sent  mes- 
ses unto  them  from  before  him: 
but  Benjamin's  mess  was  five  times 
so  much  as  any  of  theirs.  And 
they  drank  and  were  merry  with 
him. 


657.  The  conversation  between  Jacob  and  his  sons,  as 
preliminary  to  their  second  journey,  is  what  might  have 
been  expected  on  such  an  occasion.  The  old  man  is  griev- 
ously distressed  with  the  idea  of  parting  with  Benjamin  ; 
but  still  he  sees  no  other  way  in  view  of  the  circumstances. 
Reuben  had  given  him  the  strongest  pledges  that  his 
darling  boy  should  not  be  harmed  ;  and  now  Judah  does 


352 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


the  same  ;  and  as  we  have  yet  found  nothing  in  the 
conduct  of  Judah,  as  he  stood  related  to  his  father,  to 
incur  the  old  man's  displeasure,  as  we  have  Avith  the  three 
older  sons,  we  may  conclude  that  his  influence  was  more 
available  on  that  account.  The  consent  is  at  last  ob- 
tained ;  and  the  sons  start  for  Egypt  with  their  father's 
solemn  benediction  on  their  heads  ;  and  a  few  articles, 
the  choicest  things  they  had,  as  a  present  to  the  king. 

658.  There  seems  a  discrepancy  between  xlii.  35  and 
xliii.  21.  and  there  may  be  this  discrepancy;  as,  in  the 
latter  passage,  the  brethren  seem  to  have  been  somewhat 
excited,  and  were  not  very  exact,  in  their  statements. 
Besides,  it  was  not  important  that  they  should  be  exact, 
in  making  the  last  statement,  as  it  was  not  made  to 
Joseph,  but  to  one  of  his  servants. 

659.  The  suspicions  of  the  brethren  that  they  are 
brought  into  Joseph's  house  for  bad  purposes,  was  only 
one  of  the  results  of  a  guilty  conscience.  They  had  been 
guilty  of  an  enormous  wrong  ;  and  though  several  years 
had  passed,  since  they  committed  the  act,  yet  their  guilt 
still  clung  to  them  ;  and  whatever  of  misfortune  befell 
them,  or  was  likely  to  befall  them,  they  were  ready  to 
attribute  to  their  former  conduct.  It  shows  the  necessity 
of  keeping  clear  from  crime  that  is  followed  by  such 
consequences. 

660.  The  feeling  of  Joseph  towards  his  brother  Benja- 
min, was  a  natural  state  of  things,  as  this  was  indeed  his' 
only  brother  by  the  same  mother,  and  that  mother  was 
dead.  And  though  we  find  Joseph  at  last  unable  to  re- 
strain his  feelings,  in  regard  to  all  his  brethren,  and  he 
treated  them  most  affectionately,  3^et  Benjamin  all  along  is 
evidently  regarded  as  the  favorite  one  ;  as  very  natural- 
ly he  would  be. 


SECTION  XXII.  —  The  Silver  Cup. 
CHAP.  XLIV. 


1.  And  he  commandeil  the  stew- 
ard of  his  house,  sayin<r,  Fill  the 
men's  sacks  with  food,  as  much  as 
they  can  carry,  and  put  every 
man's  money  in  his  sack's  mouth. 


2.  And  put  my  cup,  the  silver 
cup,  in  the  sack's  mouth  of  the 
youui^est,  and  his  corn  money. 
And  he  did  according  to  the  word 
that  Joseph  had  spoken. 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


353 


3.  As  soon  as  the  morning  was 
light,  the  men  were  sent  away, 
they  and  their  asses. 

4.  And  when  they  were  gone  out 
of  the  city,  and  not  yet  far  off,  Jo- 
seph said  unto  his  steward,  Up,  fol- 
low after  the  men :  and  when  thou 
dost  overtake  them,  say  unto  them. 
Wherefore  have  ye  rewarded  evil 
for  good  ? 

5.  Is  not  this  it  in  which  my  lord 
drinketh,  and  whereby  indeed  he 
divineth  f  ye  have  done  evil  in  so 
doing. 

6.  IT  And  he  overtook  them,  and 
he  spake  unto  them  these  same 
words. 

7.  And  they  said  unto  him. 
Wherefore  saith  my  lord  these 
words?  God  forbid  that  thy  ser- 
vants should  do  according  to  this 
thing: 

8.  Behold  the  money,  which  we 
found  in  our  sacks'  mouths,  we 
brought  again  unto  thee  out  of  the 
land  of  Canaan:  how  then  should 
we  steal  out  of  thy  lord's  house 
silver  or  gold  ? 

9.  Witti  whomsoever  of  thy  ser- 
vants it  be  found,  both  let  him  die, 
and  we  also  will  be  my  lord's  bond- 
men. 

iO,  And  he  said.  Now  also  let  it 
be  according  unto  your  words;  he 
with  whom  it  is  found  shall  be  my 
servant ;  and  ye  shall  be  blameless. 

11.  Then  they  speedily  took  down 
every  man  his  sack  to  the  ground, 
and  opened  every  man  his  sack. 

12.  And  he  searched,  and  began 
at  the  eldest,  and  left  at  the  young- 
est: and  the  cup  was  found  in  Ben- 
jamin's sack. 

13.  Then  they  rent  their  clothes, 
and  laded  every  man  his  ass,  and 
returned  to  the  city. 

.14.  IT  And  Judah  and  his  breth- 
ren came  to  Joseph's  house,  for 
he  was  yet  there:  and  they  fell 
before  him  on  the  ground. 

15.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them, 
What  deed  is  this  that  ye  have 
done  ?  wot  ye  not  that  such  a  man 
as  I  can  certainly  divine  ? 

16.  And  Judah  said,  What  shall 
"^e  say  unto  my  lord  ?  what  shall 


we  speak  ?  or  how  shall  we  clear 
ourselves  ?  God  hath  found  out  the 
iniquity  of  thy  servants:  behold, 
we  are  my  lord's  servants,  both 
we,  and  he  also  with  whom  the  cup 
is  found. 

17.  And  he  said,  God  forbid  that 
I  should  do  so;  but  the  man  in 
whose  hand  the  cuji  is  found,  he 
shall  be  my  servant;  and  as  for 
you,  get  you  up  in  peace  unto 
your  father. 

18.  IT  Then  Judah  came  near  un- 
to him,  and  said,  Oh  my  lord ,  let 
thy  servant,  I  pray  thee,  speak  a 
word  in  my  lord's  ears,  and  let  not 
thine  anger  burn  against  thy  ser- 
vant: for  thou  art  even  as  Pharaoh. 

19.  My  lord  asked  his  servants, 
saying,  Have  ye  a  father,  or  a  bro- 
ther? 

20.  And  we  said  unto  my  lord. 
We  have  a  father,  an  old  man,  and 
a  child  of  his  old  age,  a  little  one; 
and  his  brother  is  dead,  and  he 
alone  is  left  of  his  mother,  and  his 
father  loveth  him. 

21.  And  thou  saidst  unto  thy  ser- 
vants, Bring  him  down  unto  me, 
that  I  may  set  mine  eyes  upon  him. 

22.  And  we  said  unto  ray  lord. 
The  lad  cannot  leave  his  father:  for 
if  he  should  leave  his  father,  his 
father  would  die. 

23.  And  thou  saidst  unto  thy  ser- 
vajits.  Except  your  youngest  bro- 
ther come  down  with  you,  ye  shall 
see  my  face  no  more. 

24.  And  it  came  to  pass  when  we 
came  up  unto  thy  servant  my  fo- 
ther,  we  told  him  the  words  of  my 
lord. 

25.  And  our  father  said.  Go 
again,  and  buy  us  a  little  food. 

26.  And  we  said,  We  cannot  go 
down:  if  our  youngest  brother  be 
with  us,  then  will  we  go  down :  for 
we  may  not  see  the  man's  face,  ex- 
cept our  youngest  brother  be  with 
us. 

27.  And  thy  servant  my  father 
said  unto  us.  Ye  know  that  my  wife 
bare  me  two  sons  : 

28.  And  the  one  went  out  from 
me,  and  I  said,  Sui-ely  he  is  torn  in 
pieces;  and  I  saw  him  not  since; 


354 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


29.  And  if  ye  take  this  also  from 
me,  and  mischief  befall  him,  ye 
shall  bring  down  my  gray  hairs 
with  sorrow  to  the  grave. 

30.  Now  theretbre  when  I  come 
to  thy  servant  my  father,  and  the 
lad  be  not  vvith  us,  (seeing  that  his 
life  is  bound  up  in  the  lad's  life:) 

31.  It  shall  come  to  pass,  when 
he  seeth  that  the  lad  is  not  with  us, 
that  he  will  die:  and  thy  sersants 
shall  bring  down  the  gray  hairs  of 
thy  servant  our  father  with  sorrow 
to  the  grave. 


32.  For  thy  servant  became 
surety  for  the  lad  unto  my  father, 
saying,  If  I  bring  him  not  unto  thee, 
then  I  shall  bear  the  blame  to  my 
father  for  ever. 

33.  Now  therefore,  I  pray  thee, 
let  thy  servant  abide  instead  of  the 
lad,  a  bondman  to  my  lord;  and 
let  the  lad  go  up  with  his  brethren. 

34.  For  how  shall  I  go  up  to  my 
father,  and  the  lad  be  not  with  me? 
lest  perad venture  I  see  the  evil  that 
shall  come  on  my  father. 


661.  "Whereby  he  divineth."  An  allusion,  it  would 
seem,  to  some  practice  of  the  magicians,  and  the  refer- 
ence to  it,  was  intended  to  intimate  that  he  could  detect 
them  in  their  guilt,  by  some  virtue  belonging  to  that 
cup.  In  another  verse,  (15th)  this  idea  is  conveyed 
directly. 

662  It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  Benjamin  would 
protest  his  innocence,  and  doubtless  he  did,  but  to  no 
effect,  for,  not  only  Joseph,  but  even  Judah,  assumed 
that  the  larceny  had  been  committed.  But  what  they 
should  do,  under  the  circumstances,  they  did  not  know. 
True,  they  could  leave  Benjamin  in  Egypt  as  a  slave,  and 
go  back  to  Canaan,  but  they  had  given  the  strongest 
assurances  that  Benjamin  should  be  returned  in  safety  ; 
and  how,  in  view  of  their  pledges,  could  they  meet  their 
aged  father  and  Benjamin  be  not  with  them  ?  This  was 
truly  a  sad  case. 

663.  The  plea  of  Judah  that  follows,  is  the  most  per- 
fect argument  under  the  circumstances,  that  it  was 
possible  for  any  mortal  man  to  utter.  We  do  not  wonder 
that  it  took  eflect. 


SECTION  XXIII. — Joseph  made  known  to  ms  Brethren. 
CHAP.  XLV. 


1.  Then  Joseph  could  not  refrain 
himself  before  all  them  that  stood 
by  him:  and  he  cried,  Cause  every 
man  to  go  out  frcnn  mc.  And 
there  stood  no  man  with  him,  while 
Joseph  made  himself  known  unto 
his  brethren. 


2.  And  he  wept  aloud;  and  the 
Egyptians  and  the  house  of  Pha- 
raoh heard, 

3.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
brethren,  I  am  Joseph:  doth  my 
father  yet  live?  and  his  breth- 
ren could  not    answer    him;  for 


JACOB  AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


35i 


tlicy  -were    troubled   at  his  pres- 
ence. 

4.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
brethren,  Come  near  to  me,  I  pray 
you.  And  they  came  near.  And 
he  said,  lain  Joseph  your  brother, 
whom  ye  sold  into  E.<?ypt. 

5.  Now  therefore  be  not  grieved, 
nor  angry  with  yourselves,  that  ye 
sold  me  hither;  for  God  did  send 
me  before  you  to  preserve  life 

6.  For  these  two  years  hath  the 
famine  0ee7i  in  the  land ;  and  yet 
there  are  live  yeai's,  in  the  which 
there  shall  neither  be  earing  nor 
harvest. 

7.  And  God  sent  me  before  you 
to  preserve  you  a  posterity  in  the 
earth,  and  to  save  your  lives  by  a 
great  deliverance. 

8.  So  now  it  was  not  you  that 
sent  me  hither,  but  God:  and  he 
hath  made  me  a  fitherto  Phai-aoh, 
and  lord  of  all  his  house,  and  a 
ruler  throughout  all  the  land  of 
Egypt. 

9.  Haste  ye,  and  go  up  to  my 
father,  and  say  unto  him,  Thus 
saith   thy  son    Joseph,   God  hath 


made  me  lord  of  all  Egypt:  come 
down  unto  me,  tarry  not. 

JO.  And  tliou  shalt  dwell  in  the 
land  of  Goshen,  and  thou  shalt 
be  near  unto  me,  thou,  and  thy 
children,  and  thy  children's  chil- 
dren, and  thy  flocks,  and  thy  herds, 
and  all  that  thou  hast: 

11.  And  there  willl  nourish  thee: 
(for  yet  thereare  five  years  of  fam- 
ine:) lest  thou,  and  thy  household, 
and  all  that  thou  hast,  come  to  pov- 
erty. 

12  And,  behold,  your  eyes  see, 
and  the  eyes  of  my  brother  Benja- 
min, that  it  is  my  mouth  that 
speaketh  unto  you. 

13.  And  ye  shall  tell  my  father 
of  all  my  glory  in  Egypt,   and  of 

j  all  that  ye  have  seen;  and  ye  shall 
■;  haste,  and  bring  down  my  father 
hither. 

14.  And  he  fell  upon  his  brother 
Benjamin's  neck,  and  wept;  and 
Benjamin  wept  upon  his  neck. 

;      15.  Moreover,  he  kissed  all  his 
:  brethren,    and   wept  upon   them, 
!  and  after  that  his  brethren  talked 
with  him. 


664.  The  scene  here  brought  to  view  is  intensely  ex- 
citing. Nothing  could  be  more  natural,  and  nothing 
could  be  more  affecting.  If  human  language  was  ever 
dictated  by  divine  inspiration,  we  should  say  that  the 
language  of  Joseph  on  this  occasion  was  so  uttered. 
And  the  doctrine  inculcated  is  so  beautifully  expressed, 
"  Not  you,  but  God,  sent  me  here.''  The  whole  thing  is 
a  divine  Providence.  The  salvation  of  the  people  from 
destruction,  is  the  purpose  accomplished,  and  God  is 
deserving  of  all  the  praise.  If  such  were  the  purpose  of 
God  with  respect  to  Joseph's  brethren,  is  it  not  reasonable 
to  conclude,  that  all  sins  are  overruled,  in  like  manner, 
for  good  ? 

665.  It  is  reasonable  to  presume  that  if  Joseph  had 
been  at  liberty  to  go  up  to  Canaan,  he  would  have  done 
80,  and  not  required  his  father's  family  to  come  down 
into  Egypt.  The  latter  arrangement  was  the  one  adopted, 
mainly  on  account  of  the  famine.     Still,  Joseph,  if  not 


356 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


retained  in  Egypt  of  necessity,  had  many  reasons  for  re- 
maining  there  ;  and  the  change  to  that  country,  he  doubt- 
less regarded  as  a  great  advantage  to  his  father's  family. 
666.  The  special  aflection  of  Joseph  for  Benjamin,  here 
and  elsewhere  shown,  was  quite  natural ;  not  only  as 
being  nearly  of  the  same  age  ;  but  as  being  the  sons  of 
the  same  mother,  while  the  other  brethren  were  not  so. 

SECTION  XXIV.— Jacob  is  sent  for. 


CHAP.  XLV. 


lb.  IT  And  the  fame  thereof  was 
heard  in  Pharaoh's  house,  saying, 
Joseph's  bretliren  are  come:  and  it 
pleased  Pharaoh  well,  and  his  ser- 
vants. 

17.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Jo- 
seph, Say  unto  thy  brethren,  this 
do  ye;  lade  your  beasts,  and  go, 
get  you  unto  the  land  of  Canaan. 

18.  And  take  your  father  and 
your  households,  and  come  unto 
me:  and  1  Avill  give  you  the  good 
of  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  ye  shall 
eat  the  fat  of  the  land. 

19.  Now  thou  art  commanded, 
this  do  ye;  Take  you  wagons  out 
of  the  land  of  Egypt  for  your  lit- 
tle ones,  and  for  your  wives,  and 
bring  your  father,  and  come. 

20.  Also  regard  not  your  stuff  : 
for  the  good  of  all  tlie  land  of 
Egypt  is  yours. 

21.  IT  And  the  children  of  Israel 
did  so;  and  Joseph  gave  t  em  wag- 
ons, according  to  the  command- 
ment of  Pharaoh,  and  gave  them 
provision  for  the  way. 

22.  To  all  of  them  he  gave  each 
man  changes  of  raiment;  but  to 
Benjamin  he  gave  three  hundred 


pieces  of  silver,  and  five  changes 
of  raiment. 

23.  And  to  his  fother  he  sent  af- 
ter this  manner;  ten  asses  laden 
with  the  good  things  of  Egypt,  and 
ten  she  asses  laden  with  corn  and 
bread  and  meat,  for  his  father  by 
the  way. 

24.  So  he  sent  his  brethren 
away,  and  they  departed:  and  ho 
said  unto  them.  See  that  ye  fail  not 
out  by  the  way. 

2-5.  IT  And  they  went  up  out  of 
Egypt,  and  came  into  the  land  of 
Canaan  unto  Jacob  their  father. 

26.  And  told  him,  saying,  Joseph 
is  yet  alive,  and  he  is  governor 
over  all  the  land  of  Egypt.  And 
Jacob's  heart  fainted,  for  he  be- 
lieved them  not. 

27.  And  they  told  him  all  the 
words  of  Joseph,  which  he  had 
said  unto  them;  and  when  he  saw 
the  wagons  which  Joseph  had 
sent  to  carry  him,  the  spirit  of  Ja- 
cob their  fither  revived. 

28.  And  Israel  said,  //  is  enough: 
Joseph  my  son  is  yet  alive:  I  will 
go  and  see  him  before  I  die. 


667.  The  liberality  of  Pharaoh,  as  here  exhibited,  is 
worthy  of  our  admiration  ;  nor  must  we  withhold  it, 
though  it  be  bestowed  upon  a  heathen  ruler.  That 
wagons  were  to  be  taken  from  Egypt  to  bring  down  the 
patriarch  and  his  household,  indicates  clearly  that  these 
vehicles  were  an  Egyptian  convenience,   and  that  they 


JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY.  357 

were  not  used  in  Canaan.  The  "  good  things  of  Egypt," 
are  not  here  described.  They  may  have  consisted  of 
garments  and  ornaments.  They  were  obviously  not  pro- 
visions, as  these  are  specially  named  afterwards  :  and  the 
provisions  sent,  though  said  tu  be  for  "  his  father"  by 
the  way,  were  evidently  intended  for  all  the  household, 
consisting  of  many  families,  and  a  large  company  of 
servants, 

668.  "  See  that  ye  fall  not  out  by  the  way  ;"  —  a  very 
fit  and  timely  admonition,  since,  in  view  of  the  circum- 
stances, a  "falling  ouf  would  be  very  apt  to  occur; 
each  one  being  disposed  to  reproach  the  others  for  the 
cruel  treatment  of  Joseph  when  they  sold  him  to  the 
Ishmaelites. 

669.  The  effect  of  the  intelligence  that  Joseph  was  yet 
living,  upon  his  aged  father,  is  precisely  what  we  should 
expect.  The  first  shock  was  nearly  overwhelming.  The 
news  was  too  good  to  be  true.  At  length,  however, 
when  the  evidence  was  such  as  could  not  be  well  resisted, 
he  yields  a  joyful  faith  to  the  message,  and  enters  at  once 
upon  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  journey. 

SECTION  XXV.— Journey  TO  Egypt. 

CHAP.  XLVI. 

1.  And  Israel  took  his  journey  I  5.  And  Jacob  rose  up  from  Beer- 
with  all  that  he  had,  and  came  to  sheba;  and  the  sons  of  Israel  car- 
Beersheba,  and  offered  sacrifices  '  ried  Jacob  their  father,  and  their 
unto  the  God  of  his  father  Isaac.      ,  little  ones,  and  their  wives,  in  the 

2.  And  God  spake  unto  Israel  in  I  wagons  which  Pharaoh  had  sent  to 
the  visions  of  the  night,  and  said,  I  carry  him. 

Jacob,  Jacob!    And  he  said,  Here  !      6.  And  they  took  their  cattle,  and 
am  I.  ^  I  their  goods,  which  they  had  gotten 

3.  And  he  said,  I  am  God,  the  i  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and' came 
God  of  thy  father:  fear  not  to  go  i  into  Egypt,  Jacob,  and  all  his  seed 


down  into  Egypt ;  for  I  will  there 
make  of  thee  a  gi'eat  nation : 

4.  I  will  go  down  with  thee  into 


with  him : 

7.  His  sons,  and  his  sons'  sons 
with  him,  his  daughters,  and  his 


Egypt;  and  I  will  also  surely  bring  ;  sons'  daughters,  and  all  his  seed 
thee  up  again :  and  Joseph  shall  i  brought  he  with  him  into  Egypt, 
put  his  hand  upon  thine  eyes. 

670.  The  temporary  stop  at  Beersheba,  was  exceed- 
ingly natural,  as  Jacob  had  resided  there,  (and  so  had 
Abram  and  Isaac,)  on  a  former  occasion  ;  and  we  learn 


358 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


from  this  passag'e,  as  well  as  from  others,  that  Beersheba 
lay  in  the  direction  of  Eg^^pt  from  Hebron. 

671.  "God  spake  to  Israel  in  the  visions  of  the  night.'^ 
And  the  reason  of  the  comminacation  seems  to  be,  that 
Jacob  was  now  leaving  the  promised  land,  which  had 
been  given  to  him  and  his  seed  ;  and  he  may  have  had 
doubts  whether  or  not  it  was  the  divine  pleasure  that  he 
should  do  so  ;  and  to  assure  him  on  this  point,  hi  is  en- 
couraged to  go  down  into  Egypt  with  the  promise  that 
he  should  again  be  brought  up  from  that  country,  and 
should  at  length  come  into  possession  of  the  long  prom- 
ised inheritance.  The  announcement  to  Abram,  (chap. 
XV.)  that  his  seed  should  be  a  stranger  in  a  land  that 
was  not  theirs,  and  should  be  afflicted  four  hundred  years, 
seemed  now  in  the  way  of  being  fulfilled,  though  it  does 
not  appear  that  Jacob  understood  the  prediction  as  having 
reference  to  his  sojourn  in  Egypt,  nor  could  it  be  certain 
that  such  was  its  design,  till  a  later  period,  as  the  pre- 
diction did  not  specify  the  country  where  the  servitude 
should  be  suffered. 

SECTION  XXVI. — Joseph's  meeting  with  his  Father. 
CHAP.  XLVI. 


28.  And  he  sent  Judah  before 
him  unto  Joseph,  to  direct  his  face 
unto  Goshen;  and  they  came  into 
the  land  of  Goshen. 

29,  And  Joseph  made  ready  his 
chariot,  and  went  up  to  meet  Is- 
rael his  father  to  Goshen ,  and  pre- 


sented himself  unto  him,  and  he  fell 
on  his  neck,  and  wept  on  his  neck  a 
good  while. 

30,  And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph. 
Now  let  me  die,  since  I  have  seen 
thy  face,  because  thou  art  yet  alivo. 


672.  Judah  was  sent  in  advance  to  inform  Joseph,  and 
see  to  the  requisite  preparations.  Joseph  goes  forward 
to  meet  his  father,  and  to  mingle  his  tears  of  joy  with 
those  of  the  old  man  whose  happiness  on  earth  is  now 
complete. 

673.  The  location  of  Goshen  is  sufficiently  indicated 
by  this  passage.  It  was  the  nearest  part  of  Egypt  to 
Canaan.  The  Septuagint  calls  it  "  Goshen  of  Arabia," 
which  sustains  the  same  opinion.  It  must  have  extended 
far  enough  to  the  East,  beyond  the  northern  point  of  the 


JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


359 


Red   Sea,    to   have  joined   Arabia  and  thereby  to  have 
received  this  designation. 

674.  Joseph  had  a  special  chariot  called  "  the  second 
chariot;"  and  with  tliis  he  goes  to  meet  his  father,  ac- 
companied, it  may  be,  with  his  customary  attendants. 


SECTION  XXVII. 


-Interview  of  the  Brethren  with 

Pharaoh. 
CHAP.  XLVI. 


31.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
brethren,  and  unto  his  father's 
house,  I  will  go  up  and  shew  Pha- 
raoh, and  say" unto  him,  my  breth- 
ren, and  my  father's  house,  which 
were  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  are 
come  unto  thee. 

32.  And  the  men  arc  shepherds, 
for  their  trade  hath  been  to  feed 
cattle;  and  they  have  brought  their 
flocks,  and  their  herds,  and  all 
that  they  have. 

CHAP. 

1.  Then  Joseph  came  and  told 
Pharaoh,  and  said.  My  father,  and 
my  brethren,  and  their  flocks,  and 
their  herds,  and  all  that  they  have, 
are  come  out  of  the  land  of  Cana- 
an: and,  behold,  they  are  in  the 
land  of  Goshen. 

2.  And  he  took  some  of  his 
brethren,  even  five  men,  and  pre- 
sented them  unto  Pharaoh. 

3.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  his 
brethren.  What  is  your  occupa- 
tion ?  And  they  said  unto  Pharaoh, 
Thy  servants  are  shepherds,  both 
we,  and  also  our  fathers. 

4.  They  said  moreover  unto  Pha- 
raoh, For  to  sojourn  in  the  laud 


33.  And  it  shall  come  to  pass, 
when  Pharaoh  shall  call  you,  and 
shall  say.  What  is  your  occupa- 
tion? 

34.  That  ye  shall  say,  Thy  ser- 
vants' trade  hath  been  about  cat- 
tle from  our  youth  even  until  now, 
both  we  and  also  our  tathers;  that 
ye  may  dwell  in  tlie  land  of  Gosh- 
en ;  for  every  shepherd  is  an  abom- 
ination unto  the  Egyptians. 

XLVII. 

are  we  come,  for  thy  servants  have 
no  pasture  for  their  flocks;  for  the 
famine  is  sore  in  the  land  of  Cana- 
an ;  now  therefore,  we  pray  thee,  ■ 
let  thy  servants  dwell  in  the  laud 
of  Goshen. 

5.  And  Pharaoh  spake  unto  Jo- 
seph, saying,  Thy  father  and  thy 
brethren  are  come  unto  thee. 

6.  The  land  of  Egypt  is  before 
thee :  in  the  best  of  the  land  make 
thy  father  and  thy  brethren  to 
dwell;  in  the  land  of  Goshen  let 
them  dwell:  and  if  thou  kncwest 
any  men  of  activity  among  them, 
then  make  them  rulers  over  my 
cattle. 


675.  That  the  children  of  Israel  were  shepherds,  would 
incline  Pharaoh  to  give  them  a  separate  part  of  the 
country,  in  view  of  the  prevailing  prejudice,  against  that 
class  of  men  ;  and  this  was  precisely  what  the  sons  of 
Jacob  desired,  as  they  could  thus  preserve  their  separate 
identity  and  their  separate  customs.  The  reason  why 
shepherds  were  an  abomination  to  the  Egyptians,  does 
not  appear  from  the  narrative,  though  it  may  be  found  in 


3G0  JACOB   AND    HIS   FAMILY. 

the  history  of  that  country  at  a  former  period.  That  there 
were  no  shepherds  in  Egypt,  however,  we  must  not  con- 
clude ;  for  the  proposition  of  Pharaoh,  xlvii.  6,  to  make 
some  of  Joseph's  brethren  rulers  over  his  cattle,  would 
refute  this  idea.  And  at  a  later  day  there  are  numerous 
references  to  cattle  in  Egypt.  But  evidently  this  was  not 
the  main  business  of  the  people  ;  and  being  uncommon 
it  was  not  regarded  with  favor  ;  and  not  being  regarded 
with  favor,  it  became  uncommon. 

676.  The  result  of  this  interview  was  what  had  been 
desired  —  the  land  of  Goshen  was  assigned  to  the  Israel- 
ites :  and  we  infer  from  what  is  said  of  it,  that  it  was 
literally  the  best  of  the  land.  And  being  watered  by 
the  Nile,  the  land  would  be  productive,  while  such  would 
not  be  the  case  with  the  country  of  Canaan.  And  though, 
at  this  time,  we  may  conclude  the  land  was  less  produc- 
tive than  common,  on  account  of  the  famine,  we  may  also 
infer,  that  there  was  still  some  pasturage  for  the  cattle. 

SECTION  XXVIII.  —  Interview  of  Israel  with  Pharaoh. 

CHAP.    XLVII. 

7.  And  Joseph  brought  in  Jacob  I  thirty  years:  few  and  evil  have  the 
his  father,  and  set  him  before  Pha-  !  days  of  the  years  of  my  life  been, 


raoh:  and  Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh. 

8.  And  Pharaoh  said  unto  Ja- 
cob, How  old  art  thou  ? 

9.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Pha- 
raoh, The  days  of  the  years  of  my 
pilgrimage  are    an   hundred    and 


and  have  not  attained  unto  the 
days  of  the  years  of  the  life  of  my 
fathers  in  the  days  of  their  pilgrim- 
age. 

10.  And  Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh, 
and  went  out  from  before  Pharaoh. 


677.  We  cannot  doubt  that  much  more  occurred  in 
this  interview  than  what  is  here  recorded  ;  but  allusion  is 
made  to  the  age  of  the  patriarch,  as  one  important  cir- 
cumstance that  seemed  to  be  worthy  of  preservation  in 
the  record. 

Jacob  blessed  Pharaoh  when  the  interview  began,  and 
the  same  thing  is  repeated  at  the  close.  We  infer  that 
this  was  customary,  especially  on  important  occasions. 
The  "  blessing"  was  evidently  nothing  more  than  a  ben- 
ediction, or  an  expression  of  good  wishes  toward  the 
king. 


JACOB  AND  HIS    FAMILY. 


361 


678.  Isaac  had  lived  to  the  age  of  180  years,  and  Abra- 
ham to  the  age  of  175  ;  so  that  Jacob,  at  130  years,  had 
indeed  not  yet  attained  to  the  age  of  his  fathers.  There 
is  no  reference  to  the  longevity  of  the  patriarchs  before 
the  time  of  Abraham. 

SECTION  XXIX.— The  Famine. 


CHAP.  XLVII. 


11.  And  Joseph  placed  his  father 
and  his  brethren,  and  gave  them  a 
possession  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  in 
the  best  of  the  land,  in  the  land  of 
Rameses,  as  Pharaoh  had  com- 
manded. 

12.  And  Joseph  nourished  his 
father,  and  his  brethren,  and  all 
his  father's  household,  with  bread, 
according  to  their  families. 

13.  IT  And  there  was  no  bread  in 
all  the  land;  for  the  famine  was 
very  sore,  so  that  the  land  of 
Egypt,  and  all  theb^nd  of  Canaan, 
fainted  by  reason  of  the  famine. 

14.  And  Joseph  gathered  up  all 
the  money  that  was  found  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  and  in  the  land  of 
Canaan,  for  the  corn  which  they 
bought:  and  Joseph  brought  the 
money  into  Pharaoh's  house. 

15.  And  when  money  failed  in 
the  land  of  Eerypt,  and  in  the  land 
of  Canaan,  all  the  Egyptians  came 
unto  Joseph,  and  said.  Give  us 
bread:  for  why  should  we  die  in 
thy  presence  ?  for  the  money  fail- 
eth. 

16.  And  Joseph  said,  Give  your 
cattle;  and  I  will  give  you  for 
your  cattle,  if  money  fail. 

17.  And  they  brought  their  cat- 
tle unto  Joseph:  and  Joseph  gave 
them  bread  in  exchange  for  horses, 
and  for  the  flocks,  and  for  the  cat- 
tle of  tho  herds,  and  for  the  asses: 
and  he  fed  them  with  bread  for  all 
their  cattle  for  that  year. 

18.  When  the  year  was  ended, 
they  came  unto  him  the  second 
year,  and  said  unto  him,  We  will 

16 


not  hide  it  from  my  lord,  how  that 
our  money  is  spent ;  my  lord  also 
hath  our  herds  of  cattle:  there  is 
not  aught  left  in  the  sight  of  my 
lord,  but  our  bodies  and  our  lands: 

19.  Wherefore  shall  we  die  before 
thine  eyes,  both  we  and  our  land  ? 
buy  us  and  our  land  for  bread,  and 
we  and  our  land  will  be  servants 
unto  Pharaoh,  and  give  us  seed, 
ihat  we  may  live  and  not  die,  that 
the  land  be  not  desolate. 

20.  And  Joseph  bought  all  the 
land  of  Egypt  for  Pharaoh:  for 
the  Egyptians  sold  every  man  his 
field,  because  the  famine  prevailed 
over  them;  so  the  land  became 
Pharaoh's. 

21.  And  as  for  the  people,  he  re- 
moved them  to  cities  from  07ie  end 
of  the  borders  of  Egypt  even  to 
the  other  end  thereof 

22.  Only  the  land  of  the 
priests  bought  he  not;  for  the 
priests  had  a  portion  assigned  them 
of  Pharaoh,  and  did  eat  their  por- 
tion which  Pharaoh  gave  them; 
wherefore  they  sold  not  their  lands. 

23.  Then  Joseph  said  unto  the 
people,  Behold  I  have  bought  you 
this  day,  and  your  land  for  Pha- 
raoh: lo,  here  is  seed  for  you,  and 
ye  shall  sow  the  land. 

24 .  And  it  shall  come  to  pass,in  the 
increase,  that  ye  shall  give  the  fifth 
parf  unto  Pharaoh:  and  four  parts 
shall  be  your  own,  for  seed  of  the 
field,  and  for  your  food,  and  for 
them  of  your  households,  and  for 
food  for  your  little  ones. 

25.  And    they  said,    thou  hast 


3G2 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


saved  our  lives;  let  us  find  grace 
in  the  sight  of  my  lord,  and  "we  will 
be  Pharoah's  servants. 

'26.  And  Joseph  made  it  a  law 
over  the  land  of  Egypt  unto  this 
day,  that  Pharaoh  should  have  the 
fifth  part;  except  the  land  of  the 


priests  only,    which    became  not 
Pharaoh's. 

27.  IT  And  Israel  dwelt  in  the 
land  of  Egypt,  in  the  country  of 
Goshen ;  and  they  had  possessions 
therein ,  and  grew,  and  multiplied 
exceedingly. 


679.  The  settlement  in  Goshen,  requires  no  comment, 
as  this  was  the  conclusion  of  an  arrangement  that  has 
already  been  sufficiently  noticed. 

680.  We  have  suggested,  in  another  place,  that  the 
Egyptians,  expecting  a  famine,  would  be  apt  to  lay  in  an 
extra  store,  besides  the  fifth  exacted  of  them  by  the  king. 
Hence  it  appears  that  the  special  distress  of  the  people, 
was  not  felt  till  the  last  two  years  of  the  seven  ;  lor  I 
understand  these  to  be  the  two  years  referred  to  in  the 
foregoing  passage. 

"  That  year,"  verse  17,  we  take  to  be  the  sixth  year; 
and  "  when  that  year  was  ended  they  come  unto  him  the 
second  year,-'  not  the  second  year  of  the  famine,  but  the 
year  following  the  one  just  alluded  to,  and  "second'^ 
with  reference  to  that,  but  in  fact  the  last  of  the  famine. 
This  view  is  sustained,  as  before  shown,  by  the  fact  that 
no  mention  is  made  of  any  other  years  of  famine  succeed- 
ing this.  This  is  one  circumstance.  Another  is,  that  the 
people  are  now  represented  as  parting  with  all  they 
possess,  and  becoming  themselves  the  servants  of  Phara- 
oh ;  of  course  they  had  nothing  to  pay  for  other  years  of 
famine.  And  finally,  the  people  are  here  furnished  with 
seed  to  sow  the  land,  as  if  the  famine  were  at  an  end. 

681.  Joseph  ''removed  the  people  to  the  cities,  from 
one  end  of  the  borders  of  Egypt  to  the  other  end  thereof." 
The  Septuagint  says  that  he  made  the  people  servants, 
from  one  end  of  Egypt  to  the  other.  The  latter  construc- 
tion is  in  harmony  with  the  context,  while  the  other  gives 
us  no  intimation  of  the  intention  of  what  is  there  stated. 

682.  The  priests  in  Egypt  have  always  been  the  most 
influential  class  of  the  citizens  of  that  country.  They 
not  only  presided  over  the  arrangements  of  religion  :  but 
the  sciences  were  in  their  hands ;  and  it  was  in  view  of 
their  importance  to  the  state,  that  they  wore  granted 
special  privileges.     They  were  not  required,  therefore,  to 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY.  363 

sell  their  lands  ;  but  were  furnished  with  a  supply  of  pro- 
visions, without  any  such  consideration. 

683.  The  fifth  part  of  the  products  of  the  land,  which 
was  the  proportion  exacted  of  the  people  during  the  seven 
years  of  plenty,  to  prepare  for  the  famine,  was  afterwards 
made  a  permanent  arrangement,  and  continued  so,  the 
writer  tells  us,  "  unto  this  day  •/'  but  when  that  period 
was,  we  cannot  say.  It  may  be  Moses,  and  it  may  be 
some  later  writer,  that  added  this  clause. 

SECTION  XXX.  — Israel  about  to  Die. 


CHAP.    XLVII. 

28.  And  Jacob  lived  in  the  land 
of  E^rypt  seventeen  years:  so  the 
whole  age  of  Jacob  was  an  hundred 
forty  and  seven  years. 

29.  And  the  time  drew  nigh  that 
Israel  must  die:  and  he  called  his 
son  Joseph,  and  said  unto  him.  If 
now  I  have  found  grace  in  thy 
sight,  put,  I  pray  thee,  thy  hand 
under  my  thigh,  and  deal  kindly 


and  truly  with  me ;  bury  me  not,  I 
pray  thee,  in  Egypt: 

30.  But  I  will  lie  with  my  fa- 
thers, and  thou  shalt  carry  me  out 
of  Egypt,  and  bury  me  in  their 
burying-place.  And  he  said,  I  will 
do  as  thou  hast  said. 

31.  And  he  said,  Swear  unto  me: 
And  he  sware  unto  him.  And  Is- 
rael bowed  himself  upon  the  bed's 
head. 


684.  Abram  required  the  same  form  of  oath  of  his 
eldest  servant,  on  an  important  occasion,  and  we  may 
reasonably  infer  that  it  was  the  customary  form. 

The  great  aim  of  the  patriarch  was  to  be  carried  back 
to  Canaan  ;  and  he  puts  his  son  under  the  strongest  pos- 
sible obligation  to  execute  his  wishes  ;  and  the  reason  of 
applying  to  him,  rather  than  to  either  of  his  other  sons, 
was  not  alone  the  affection  he  had  for  him  ;  but  because 
there  was  a  reasonable  probability  that  he  would  possess 
an  ability  to  do  thus,  that  the  others  would  not. 

685.  We  may  add,  that,  to  be  carried  back  to  Canaan 
and  buried  there,  was  not  only  the  common  feeling  of  all 
men  to  be  buried  in  one's  own  land,  and  among  his  own 
kindred  ;  but,  that  country  is  looked  upon  as  the  promised 
inheritance  of  the  seed  of  Abraham  ;  and  the  patriarch 
would  be  buried  where  his  future  seed  were  to  occupy 
and  control  the  country. 

"  I  will  do  as  thou  hast  said,''  was  not  enough  to  satisfy 
the  patriarch.     "  Swear  unto  me,"  he  says,  and  Joseph 


364 


JACOB    AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


does  swear  accordingly  ;  and  we  learn  that  the  oath  was 
faithfully  executed. 


SECTION  XXXI. — Israel  Blesses  the  Sons  of  Joseph. 
CHAP.  XLVIII. 


1.  And  it  came  to  pass,  after 
these  things,  that  one  told  Joseph, 
Behold,  thy  father  is  sick :  and  he 
took  with  him  his  two  sons,  Ma- 
nasseh  and  Ephraim. 

2.  And  one  told  Jacob,  and  said, 
Behold,  thy  son  Josej^h  cometh  un- 
to thee:  And  Israel  sti-engthened 
himself,  and  sat  upon  the  bed. 

3.  And  Jacob  said  unto  Joseph, 
God  Almighty  appeared  unto  me 
at  Luz  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  and 
blessed  me. 

4.  And  said  unto  me,  Behold,  I 
will  make  thee  fruitful,  and  multi- 
ply thee,  and  I  will  make  of  thee  a 
multitude  of  people;  and  I  will 
give  this  land  to  thy  seed  after 
theeyb?-  an  everlasting  possession. 

5.  And  now  thy  two  sons,  Eph- 
raim and  Manasseh,  which  were 
born  unto  thee  in  the  land  of 
Egypt,  before  I  came  unto  thee  in 
the  land  of  Egypt,  are  mine ;  as 
Reuben  and  Simeon,  they  shall  be 
mine. 

6.  And  thy  issue  which  thou  be- 
gettost  after  them,  shall  be  thine, 
and  shall  be  called  after  the  name 
of  their  brethren  in  their  inheri- 
tance. 

7.  And  as  for  me,  when  I  came 
from  Padan,  Rachel  died  by  me  in 
the  land  of  Canaan,  in  the  way, 
when  yet  there  was  but  a  little  way 
to  come  unto  Ephrath:  and  I  bu- 
ried her  there  in  the  way  of  Eph- 
rath; the  same  is  Bethlehem. 

8.  IT  And  Israel  beheld  Joseph's 
sons,  and  said,  Who  are  these? 

9.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
father,  They  are  my  sons,  whom 
God  hath  given  me  in  this  place. 
And  he  said.  Bring  them,  I  pray 
thee,  unto  me,  and  I  will  bless 
them. 

10.  (Now  the  eyes  of  Israel  were 
dim  for  age  so  that  he  could  not 


see. )  And  he  brought  them  near 
unto  him:  and  he  kissed  them,  and 
embraced  them. 

11.  And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph, 
I  had  not  thought  to  see  thy  face, 
and,  lo,  God  hath  shewed  me  also 
thy  seed. 

12.  And  Joseph  brought  them 
out  from  between  his  knees,  and  he 
bowed  himself  with  his  face  to  the 
earth. 

13.  And  Joseph  took  them  both, 
Ephraim  in  his  right  hand  toward 
Israel's  left  hand,  and  Manasseh  in 
his  left  hand  toward  Israel's  right 
hand,  and  brought  them  near  unto 
him. 

14.  And  Israel  stretched  out  his 
right  hand,  and  laid  it  upon  Eph- 
raim's  head,  who  was  the  younger, 
and  his  left  hand  upon  Manasseh 's 
head,  guiding  his  hands  wittingly; 
for  Manasseh  was  the  first-born. 

15.  And  he  blessed  Joseph,  and 
said,  God,  before  whom  my  flithers 
Abraham  and  Isaac  did  walk,  the 
God  which  fed  me  all  my  life  long 
unto  this  day, 

16.  The  angel  which  redeemed 
me  from  all  evil,  bless  the  lads; 
and  let  my  name  be  named  on 
them,  and  the  name  of  my  fathers 
Abraham  and  Isaac ;  and  let  them 
grow  into  a  multitude  in  the  midst 
of  the  eaith. 

17.  And  when  Joseph  saw  that 
his  father  laid  his  right  hand  upon 
the  head  of  Ephraim,  it  displeased 
him:  and  he  held  up  his  father's 
hand,  to  remove  it  from  Ephraim's 
head  unto  Manasseh's  head. 

18.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
father,  Not  so,  my  father:  for  this 
is  the  first-born;  put  thy  right 
hand  upon  his  head. 

19.  And  his  father  refused,  and 
said,  I  know  it  my  son,  I  know  it : 
he  also  shall  become  a  people,  and 


JACOB   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


365 


he  also  shall  be  great:  but  truly 
his  younger  brother  shall  be  great- 
er than  he,  and  his  seed  shall  be- 
come a  multitude  of  nations. 

20  And  he  blessed  them  that 
day,  saying,  in  thee  shall  Israel 
bless,  saying,  God  make  thee  as 
Ephraim  and  as  Manasseh.  And 
he  set  Ephraim  before  Manasseh. 


21.  And  Israel  said  unto  Joseph, 
Behold,  I  die;  but  God  shall  be 
with  you,  and  bring  you  again  un- 
to the  land  of  your  fathers. 

22.  Moreover,  I  have  given  to 
thee  one  portion  above  thy  breth- 
ren ;  which  I  took  out  of  the  hand 
of  the  Amorite  with  my  sword  and 
with  my  bow. 


686.  Luz  was  the  ancient  name  of  Bethel ;  and  we 
have  seen  that  God  had  appeared  to  Jacob,  several  times, 
in  that  place,  and  had,  each  time,  given  him  substantially 
the  promise  here  referred  to.  It  was  obvious,  therefore, 
that  the  children  of  Israel  would  not  always  remain  in 
Egypt ;  and  when  they  returned  to  Canaan,  it  was  the 
wish  of  the  patriarch  that  his  two  grand-sons,  Ephraim 
and  Manasseh,  should  have  a  portion  of  the  country 
assigned  to  them,  as  well  as  to  his  other  sons.  He  there- 
fore says  ''they  are  mine,  as  Reuben  and  Simeon;''  and 
"they  shall  be  called  after  the  name  of  their  brethren  in 
their  inheritance.'' 

687.  The  allusion  to  the  death  of  Rachel,  and  to  the 
place  of  her  burial,  in  this  connection,  seems  to  intimate 
the  portion  of  Canaan  he  would  have  the  two  sons  of 
Joseph  occupy.  I  had  not  thought  to  see  thy  face  ;  and 
lo,  God  hath  showed  me  also  thy  seed.  How  exceedingly 
natural  and  paternal. 

688.  That  Jacob  was  impressed  with  the  fact  that 
Ephraim  would  become  much  more  numerous  and  power- 
ful than  Manasseh,  may  be  the  true  interpretation  of  the 
preference  here  signified  ;  and  it  may  be  explained  as 
simply  the  desire  of  the  patriarch,  that  it  should  be  so, 
which  providentially  came  about,  or  which  God  graciously 
accomplished,  in  answer  to  the  patriarch's  prayer. 

689.  ''He  blessed  Joseph,"  that  is,  by  blessing  the 
sons  of  Joseph  ;  for  the  blessing  of  Joseph  directly, 
occurred  in  the  general  blessing  on  all  his  sons,  recorded 
in  the  next  chapter.  "  That  Joseph's  sons  might  grow  into 
a  multitude  is  the  burden  of  the  prayer  here  recorded  ; 
and  that  is  substantially  the  burden  of  all  the  prayers  of 
ancient  times  ; — a  plain  proof  that  a  numerous  posterity 
was  the  most  desirable  object  which  could  be  presented 
to  the  mind  in  those  days. 


366  JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

690.  It  seems  plain  from  what  is  said  of  the  hands  of 
Israel,  that  the  right  hand  had  more  iniportance  attached 
to  it  than  the  left :  and  hence,  the  placing  of  that  upon 
the  head  of  Ephraim,  indicated  his  pre-eminence  over  his 
brother.  ''I  know  it,^'  "I  know  it,"  is  equivalent  to, 
"  I  very  well  know  it."  It  is  a  part  of  a  Hebrew  idiom 
elsewhere  treated  of. 

"In  thee  shall  Israel  bless."  —  It  shall  be  thought  a 
great  favor  to  become  as  Ephraim  or  Manasseh  ;  and  it  is 
here  declared  that  his  posterity  would  incorporate  this 
form  into  their  established  expressions  for  such  occasions. 

691.  The  portion  given  to  Joseph,  above  the  rest  of  his 
sons,  seems  to  refer  to  the  parcel  of  ground  lying  near  to 
Shalem,  xxxiii.  19,  which  Jacob  bought  of  the  children 
of  Hamor ;  and  hence  the  bones  of  Joseph  were  buried 
there,  on  the  arrival  in  Canaan.  Josh.  xxiv.  32.  The 
Evangelist  makes  allusion  to  the  same  parcel  of  ground 
in  John  iv.  5. 

692.  "  Which  I  took  out  of  the  hand  of  the  Amorite/ 
with  m}'  sword  and  with  my  bow,"  seems  to  declare  that 
this  tract  was  not  obtained  by  purchase,  but  by  war. 
The  most  natural  way  of  removing  the  apparent  contra- 
diction, is,  that  the  sword  and  bow  have  no  connection 
with  the  acquisition.  The  passage  should  be  construed 
thus  ;  —  "I  have  given  thee  one  portion  of  the  country, 
above  thy  brethren,  namely,  the  parcel  of  ground  I  ob- 
tained of  the  children  of  Hamor,  near  to  Shalem  ;  and  in 
addition  to  this  gift,  I  bequeath  to  you  my  sword  and  my 
bow,  as  memorials  of  me." 

SECTION  XXXII.  — Jacob  Blesses  his  Sons. 
CHAP.  XLIX. 


1.  And  Jacob  called  unto  his 
Bons,  and  said,  Gather  yourselves 
together,  that  I  may  tell  you  that 
which  shall  befaU  you  in  the  last 
days. 

2.  Gather  yourselves  together, 
and  hear,  ye  sons  of  Jacob;  and 
hearken  unto  Israel  your  father. 

3.  IT  Reuben,  thou  art  my  first- 
born, my  might,  and  the  beginning 


of  ray  strength,  the  excellency  of 
dignity,  and  the  excellency  of 
power : 

4.  Unstable  as  water,  thou  shalt 
not  excel;  because  thou  wentest  up 
to  thy  father's  bed ;  then  defiledst 
thou  it :  he  went  up  to  my  couch. 

5.  IT  Simeon  and  Levi  are  bre- 
thren; instruments  of  cruelty  are 
in  their  habitations. 


JACOB   AND    HIS    FAMILY. 


367 


6.  0  my  soul,  come  not  thou 
into  their  secret;  unto  their  assem- 
bly, my  honor,  be  not  thou  united: 
for  in  their  anger  they  slew  a  man, 
and  in  their  self-will  they  digged 
down  a  wall. 

7.  Cursed  he  their  anger,  for  it 
was  fierce;  and  their  wrath,  for  it 
was  cruel:  I  will  divide  them  in 
Jacob,  and  scatter  them  in  Israel. 

8.  IT  Judah,  thou  art  he  whom 
thy  brethren  shall  praise :  thy  hand 
shall  be  in  the  neckof  thy  enemies; 
thy  father's  children  shall  bow 
down  before  thee. 

9.  Judah  is  a  lion's  whelp:  from 
the  prey,  my  son,  thou  art  gone 
up:  he  stooped  down,  he  couched 
as  a  lion,  and  as  an  old  lion;  who 
shall  rouse  him  up  ? 

10.  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart 
from  .Judah,  nor  a  lawgiver  from 
between  his  feet,  until  Shilohcome; 
and  unto  him  shall  the  gathering 
of  the  people  be. 

11.  Binding  his  foal  unto  the 
vine,  and  his  ass's  colt  unto  the 
choice  vine;  he  washed  his  gar- 
ments in  wine,  and  his  clothes  in 
the  blood  of  grapes ; 

12.  His  eyes  shall  be  red  with 
wine,  and  his  teeth  white  with  milk. 

13.  IT  Zebulon  shall  dwell  at  the 
haven  of  the  sea;  and  he  shall  be 
for  a  haven  of  ships;  and  bis  border 
shall  be  unto  Zidon. 

14.  IT  Issachar  is  a  strong  ass 
couching  down  between  two  bur- 
dens: 

15.  And  he  saw  that  rest  was 
good,  and  the  land  that  it  was  plea- 
sant; and  bowed  his  shoulder  to 
bear,  and  became  a  servant  unto 
tribute. 

16.  IT  Dan  shall  judge  his  peo- 
ple, as  one  of  the  tribes  of  Israel. 

17.  Dan  shall  be  a  serpent  by  the 


way,  an  adder  in  the  path,  that 
I  biteth  the  horse  heels,  so  that  his 
I  rider  shall  fall  backward. 

18.  I  have  waited  for  thy  salva- 
I  tion ,  0  Lord. 

I  19.  IT  Gad,  a  troop  shall  over- 
j  come  him:  but  he  shall  overcome 
;  at  the  last. 

I  20.  IT  Out  of  Asher  his  bread 
'  shall  be  fat,  and  he  shall  yield 
I  royal  dainties. 

21.  IT  Naphtali  is  a  hind  let  loose: 
he  giveth  goodly  words. 
i      22.  IT  Joseph  ts  a  fruitful  bough, 
\  even   a  fruitful  bough  by  a  well; 
whose  branches  run  over  the  wall: 
23.  The  archers  have  sorely  griev- 
'  ed  him,  and  shot  at  him,  and  hated 
him: 

24.  But  his  bow  abode  in  strength , 
and  the  arms  of  his  hands  were 
made  strong  by  the  hands  of  the 
mighty  GooJ  of  Jacob;  (from  thence 
is  theshepherd,  the  stone  of  Israel:) 

25.  Even  by  the  God  of  thy  fa- 
ther, who  shall  help  thee;  and  by 
the  Almighty,  who  shall  bless  thee 
with  blessings  of  heaven  above, 
blessings  of  the  deep  that  lieth  un- 
der, blessings  of  the  breasts,  and  of 
the  womb : 

26.  The  blessings  of  thy  father 
have  prevailed  above  the  blessings 
of  my  progenitors  unto  the  utmost 

:  bound  of  the  everlasting  hills:  they 
i  shall  be  on  the  head  of  Joseph,  and 
'  on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  him 
I  that  was  separate  from  his  brethren. 
j      27.  IT  Benjamin  shall  raven  as  a 
wolf:  in  the  morning  he  shall  de- 
vour the  prey,   and  at  night  he 
shall  divide  the  spoil. 

28.  IT  All  these  are  the  twelve 
tribes  of  Israel:  and  this  is  it  that 
their  father  spake  unto  them,  and 
blessed  them;  every  one  according 
to  his  blessing  he  blessed  them. 


693.  The  blessing  here  pronounced  upon  the  sons  of 
Jacob,  by  that  aged  and  venerable  patriarch,  deserves  a 
particular  exposition  ;  since,  as  we  believe,  it  has  very 
generally  been  misapprehended. 

^  Though  we  firmly  believe  and  maintain,  that  God  gra- 
ciously revealed  many  things  to  the  patriarchs,  of  which 


368  JACOB   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 

they  had  no  means  of  being  otherwise  informed  ;  yet  we 
do  not  agree  with  those  interpreters  who  regard  this 
*' blessing"  of  Jacob,  as  a  divinely  inspired  prediction, 
by  which  theory  they  have  subjected  themselves  to  un- 
necessary embarrassment,  in  the  interpretation  of  the 
future  events  of  Hebrew  history. 

694.  The  particulars  contained  in  this  blessing,  (so  far 
as  they  relate  to  the  future  at  all,)  are  to  be  referred  to  a 
reasonable  inference,  based  upon  what  was  known  of  the 
temper  and  disposition  of  his  sons  ;  or  to  his  dying  re- 
quests, which  his  sons,  or  other  descendants  might,  and 
probably  would  carry  out ;  or  finally,  to  his  wishes,  which 
the  divine  Being  would  be  likely  to  regard  with  favor. 

695.  It  is  worthy  of  special  notice,  that  the  past  temper 
and  disposition  of  his  sons,  were  specially  had  in  view, 
and  are  made  the  basis  of  what  would  be  likely  to  overtake 
them. 

696.  Reuben  had  been  guilty  of  a  heinous  offence 
against  his  father ;  and  on  that  account,  could  not  expect 
the  paternal  benediction  ;  and  hence  no  benediction, 
properly  so  called,  is  here  expressed  ;  and  all  that  is  here 
announced,  is,  that  he  should  not  excel  ;  and  the  reason 
given,  is,  that  he  was  unstable  as  water.  I  am  not  quite 
sure  but  this  language  refers  to  his  having  fallen,  like 
water,  from  the  high  position  to  which,  as  first  born,  he 
was  entitled  :  and  therefore  he  cotild  not  excel,  that  is 
excel  his  brethren,  or  have  a  pre-eminence  over  them,  as 
he  would  have  had,  if  he  had  not  thus  fallen. 

697.  Simeon  and  Levi  are  called  brethren,  as  indi- 
cating a  similarity  in  their  dispositions  ;  and  the  reference 
to  their  cruelty  is  made  in  allusion  to  the  sacking  of 
Shalem,  so  treacherously  conceived  and  so  barbarously 
executed.  "I  will  divide  them  in  Jacob,  and  scatter 
them  in  Israel."  It  is  my  wish,  that  in  the  division  of  the 
promised  land,  they  should  be  so  far  separated  as  never 
more  to  be  able  to  concoct  and  execute  such  a  nefarious 
scheme. 

698.  The  authority  is  given  to  Judah  that  properly 
belonged  to  the  first-born  ;  but  the  first-born  had  forfeited 
that  right,  and  so  had  the  second  and  third.  It  was  to 
Judah,  then,  that  the  birthright  belonged  ;  and  the  father 


JACOB  AND  HIS   FAMILY.  369 

here  invests  him  with  its  authority,  and  requires  the  other 
sons  to  yield  obedience  thereto.  His  prowess  is  de- 
scribed by  the  sagacity  and  dexterity  of  a  lion  seeking 
his  prey. 

699.  "  The  sceptre  shall  not  depart  from  Judah.'' 
Judah  had  just  been  invested  with  authority  over  his 
brethren  ;  in  other  words,  the  sceptre  had  been  given  into 
his  hands,  and  was  not  to  be  taken  from  him  until  Shiloh 
come  —  until  the  people  should  come  to  Shiloh,  a  noted 
place  in  the  land  of  Canaan,  of  which  we  have  frequent 
notices  at  a  later  day.  "  And  unto  him  shall  the  gather- 
ing of  the  people  be."  The  authority  shall  be  in  his 
hands,  and  the  people  shall  gather  to  him  with  a  view  to 
its  proper  exercise,  till  the  final  settlement  in  the  prom- 
ised land.  Farther  than  this,  the  patriarch  does  not  express 
his  wishes. 

700.  That  there  is  here  an  allusion  to  the  coming  of 
the  Messiah,  at  which  time  the  sceptre  should  depart 
from  Judah,  or  the  authority  over  the  Jews  transferred 
to  other  hands,  has  not  the  slightest  evidence  in  its  favor. 
That  the  phrase  ''  until  Shiloh  come  ''  will  bear  the  con- 
struction we  put  upon  it,  is  proved  by  two  facts.  One  is 
that  the  original  is  not  violated  by  this  rendering.  Another, 
that  the  language  of  this  "blessing''  is  poetic,  and  it  is 
quite  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  poetry,  to  make  that 
come  to  us  to  which  we  are  going. 

The  rest  of  the  blessing  upon  Judah  is  simply  an  ex- 
pression of  the  patriarch's  wish  that  this  son  might  be 
allowed  to  occupy  the  richest  part  of  the  country  to 
which  he  was  to  lead  the  people  ;  or  it  may  be  construed 
as  indicating  that,  wherever  he  settled,  he  would  be  likely 
to  make  it  very  fruitful. 

701.  The  language  concerning  Zebulon  is  to  be  con- 
strued as  pointing  to  a  locality  of  Canaan  best  fitted  to 
the  disposition  and  character  of  the  man  ;  and  though  we 
cannot  refer  to  circumstances  in  his  life  that  would  have 
led  to  this  arrangement,  yet  we  must  bear  in  mind  that 
but  few  things  are  recorded  of  the  sons  of  Jacob,  except 
Joseph.  Still,  as  what  is  said  of  the  other  sons,  is  based 
on  what  is  known  of  them,  we  feel  authorized  to  believe 
the  same  of  Zebulon. 
16* 


370  JACOB    AND    HIS    FAMILY. 

702.  Issachar  is  represented  as  a  quiet  and  laborious 
man,  and  more  willing  to  be  subject  to  tribute  than  to 
make  the  requisite  resistance  to  throw  ofi"  a  foreign 
power. 

703.  Dan  was  to  judge  his  people.  And  the  compari- 
son of  this  son  to  a  serpent,  indicates  his  prevailing  dis- 
position ;  and  his  success  against  his  enemies  is  attributed 
to  cunning  rather  than  to  bravery. 

704.  Gad  means  a  "  troop, '^  as  Dan  means  a  "judge,'' 
and  lience  these  terms  are  brought  into  the  patriarch's 
benediction.  And  it  is  declared  that,  though  a  troop 
might  overcome  this  son,  he  would  overcome  at  the  last. 
Though  a  sudden  and  unexpected  attack  might  secure 
against  him  a  temporary  triumph,  his  perseverance  would 
at  last  prevail.  Hence  the  prominent  trait  in  his  character 
may  be  here  inferred. 

705.  That  Asher  would  be  skilful  in  cultivating  the 
earth,  and  make  it  yield  "  royal  dainties,"  is  all  that  is 
here  asserted,  and  all  we  have  a  right  to  infer. 

706.  Naphtali  was  active  and  eloquent.  This,  and  noth- 
ing more,  is  asserted  of  him. 

707.  The  blessing  of  Joseph  is  enlarged  upon  ;  but  no 
one  can  doubt  what  its  meaning  is  in  most  of  what  is  said 
of  him.  A  few  expressions  only  are  of  doubtful  signifi- 
cance. "  From  thence  is  the  shepherd,  the  stone  of 
Israel."  The  nearest  antecedent  to  this  clause  "  from 
thence,"  is  "  Jacob  ;  "  and  the  meaning  is,  that  from 
him,  is  the  shepherd  and  the  stone  of  Israel.  Who  more 
clearly  sustained  this  relation,  or  filled  this  position  than 
Joseph  ?  He  was  emphatically  the  Shepherd  of  Israel  ; 
for  he  fed  and  nourished  his  brethren  as  a  shepherd  does 
his  flock.  He  was  the  stone  of  Israel,  or  the  rock,  whose 
cool  and  refreshing  shade  was  so  grateful  to  the  sheep  as 
a  protection  from  the  scorching  rays  of  the  sun. 

708.  The  blessings  the  patriarch  was  prepared  to  an- 
nounce to  Joseph,  would  far  exceed  any  blessings  that 
had  been  enjoyed  by  his  progenitors.  "  Unto  the  utmost 
bound  of  the  everlasting  hills,"  is  only  an  emphatic  way 
of  expressing  the  fullness  of  these  blessings. 

709.  Benjamin  is  mentioned  last  as  being  the  youngest ; 
and  the  comparison  of  him  to  a  wolf,  may  denote   some 


JACOB   AND   HIS   FAMILY.  371 

prominent  trait  in  his  character ;  but  his  dividing  the 
spoil,  indicates  a  generosity  with  which  the  other  trait 
must  not  be  made  to  conflict. 

710.  All  this  is  called  a  ''blessing ;"  but  the  name  is 
evidently  taken  from  the  general  character  of  such  an- 
nouncements, and  not  from  the  specific  character  of  what 
was  said  to  each  individual.  For  some  of  these  announce- 
ments would  more  properly  be  designated  as  maledictions 
than  as  blessings  ;  others  simply  describe  the  persons 
they  relate  to  ;  and  others  contain  an  expression  of  the 
patriarch's  wishes. 

711.  If  those  who  regard  this  passage  as  a  veritable 
prediction  of  coming  events,  shall  insist  on  the  expression 
that  what  is  related  was  to  take  place  in  the  last  days,  we 
reply  that  much  of  what  is  stated  has  no  direct  reference 
to  the  future  ;  and  what  has  such  reference,  is  as  applica- 
ble to  the  wishes  of  the  patriarch  that  such  things  might 
occur,  as  to  his  prediction  that  they  would  occur.  If 
there  is  an  appearance  of  the  contrary,  that  appearance 
may  be  referred  to  the  importance  that  was  attached  to 
one's  wishes,  uttered  under  such  circumstances,  by  which 
those  who  were  in  a  condition  to  execute  them,  were  held 
bound,  by  the  most  solemn  obligations,  to  do  so.  Hence 
I  remark,  that  if  we  find  some  of  the  things  here  an- 
nounced, actually  carried  out,  this  circumstance  is  more 
naturally  referable  to  this  sense  of  obligation  to  execute 
the  dying  request  of  the  patriarch,  than  to  any  inspiration 
that  revealed  to  him  the  realities  of  the  future. 

712.  We  venture  to  affirm,  that,  aside  from  some  par- 
ticulars of  fulfilment  of  the  kind  here  alluded  to,  there  is 
no  just  reason  for  regarding  the  passage  as  a  divine  pre- 
diction ;  for  though  some  circumstances  may  be  found  in 
connection  with  the  history  of  each  tribe,  that  correspond 
in  some  measure  with  what  is  contained  in  the  passage, 
yet  a  similar  correspondence  could  have  been  searched 
out,  if  the  announcement  had,  in  each  case,  been  quite 
different;  or  even  opposite,  from  what  it  now  is. 


372 


JACOB   AND   HIS   FAMILY. 


SECTION  XXXIII.  —  Death  of  Jacob. 


CHAP.  XLIX. 


29.  And  he  charged  them,  and 
said  unto  them,  I  am  to  be  gathered 
unto  my  people:  bury  me  with  my 
fathers  in  the  cave  that  is  in  the 
field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite, 

30.  In  the  cave  that  is  in  the  field 
of  Machpelah,  which  is  before 
Mamre,  in  the  land  of  Canaan, 
which  Abraham  bought  with  the 
field  of  Ephron  the  Hittite  for  a 
possession  of  a  burying-place. 

31.  There  they  buried  Abraham 


and  Sarah  hia  wife;  there  they 
buried  Isaac  and  Rebekah  his  wife , 
and  there  I  buried  Leah. 

32,  The  purchase  of  the  field  and 
of  the  cave  that  is  therein  was  from 
the  children  of  Heth. 

33.  And  when  Jacob  had  made 
an  end  of  commanding  his  sons, 
he  gathered  up  his  feet  into  the 
bed,  and  yielded  up  the  ghost,  and 
was  gathered  unto  his  people. 


CHAP.  L. 


1.  And  Joseph  fell  upon  his  fa- 
ther's face,  and  wept  upon  him, 
and  kissed  him. 

2.  And  Joseph  commanded  his 
servants  the  physicians  to  embalm 
his  father:  and  the  physicians  em- 
balmed Israel. 

3.  And  forty  days  were  fulfilled 
for  him;  for  so  are  fulfilled  the  days 
of  those  which  are  embalmed :  and 
the  Egyptians  mourned  for  him 
threescore  and  ten  days. 

4.  And  when  the  days  of  his 
mourning  were  past,  Joseph  spake 
unto  the  house  of  Pharaoh ,  saying. 
If  now  I  have  found  grace  in  your 
eyes,  speak,  I  pray  you,  in  the  ears 
of  Pharaoh,  saying, 

5.  My  father  made  me  swear, 
saying,  Lo,  I  die:  in  my  grave 
which  I  have  digged  for  me  in  the 
land  of  Canaan,  there  shalt  thou 
bury  me.  Now  therefore  let  me  go 
up,  I  pray  thee,  and  bury  my  fa- 
ther, and  I  will  come  again. 

6.  And  Pharaoh  said.  Go  up, 
and  bury  thy  father,  according  as 
he  made  thee  swear. 

7.  IT  And  Joseph  went  up  to 
bury  his  father:  and  with  him  went 
up  all  the  servants  of  Pharaoh,  the 


the 


elders  of  his  house,   and  all 
elders  of  the  land  of  Egypt, 

8.  And  all  the  house  of  Joseph, 
and  his  brethren,  and  his  father's 
house:  only  their  little  ones,  and 
their  flocks,  and  their  herds,  they 
left  in  the  land  of  Goshen. 

9.  And  there  went  up  with  him 
both  chariots  and  horsemen:  and 
it  was  a  very  great  company. 

10.  And  they  came  to  the  thresh 
ing  floor  of  Atad,  which  is  beyond 
Jordan,  and  there  they  mourned 
with  a  great  and  very  sore  lamen- 
tation: and  he  made  a  mourning 
for  his  father  seven  days. 

11.  And  when  the  inhabitants  of 
the  land,  the  Canaanites,  saw  the 
mourning  in  the  floor  of  Atad,  they 
said.  This  is  a  grievous  mourning 
to  the  Egyptians:  wherefore  the 
name  of  it  was  called  Abel-miz- 
raim,  which  is  beyond  Jordan. 

12.  And  his  sons  did  unto  him 
according  as  he  commanded  them : 

13.  For  his  sons  carried  him  into 
the  land  of  Canaan,  and  buried 
him  in  the  cave  of  the  field  of  Mach- 
pelah, which  Abraham  bought  with 
the  field  for  a  possession  of  a  bury- 
ing-place of  Ephron  the  Hittite, 
before  Mamre. 


713.  In  addition  to  the  special  obligation  he  had  placed 
Joseph  under,  to  carry  him  to  Canaan,  and  bury  him 


JACOR     AND   HIS    FAMILY.  373 

there,  he  here  brings  that  matter  before  all  his  sons,  and 
makes  it  his  last  and  dying  request.  The  place  is  de- 
scribed with  the  usual  exactness  and  particularity.  The 
burial  of  Abraham  in  that  place,  and  of  Sarah,  and  of 
Isaac,  and  Rebekah,  had  been  mentioned  before  ;  but  the 
death  and  burial  of  Leah  is  here,  for  the  first  time,  re- 
ferred to  :  and  it  becomes  evident  that  she  did  not  go 
down  with  Jacob  to  Egypt,  but  must  have  died  and  been 
buried  before  he  left  that  country.  The  reason  why  his 
favorite  Kachel,  was  not  placed  in  the  same  sacred  cave, 
has  been  elsewhere  suggested.  She  died  too  far  away 
from  Hebron  to  admit  of  this  ;  for  in  Canaan  the  art  of 
embalming  the  dead  was  not  known,  as  it  was  in  Egypt. 

714.  There  can  be  no  doubt  that,  "being  gathered  to 
his  people,"  has  reference  to  a  future  state  of  existence, 
and  that  the  ancients  expected  a  re-union  with  their  de- 
parted friends  after  leaving  this  world. 

The  phrase  does  not  refer  to  the  burial  in  the  cave  of 
Machpelah,  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  &c.,  as  some  suppose  ; 
for  Jacob  was  gathered  to  his  people  as  soon  as  he  died, 
while  his  burial  did  not  take  place  for  several  months,  and 
is  a  separate  and  distinct  event,  as  the  account  clearly 
shows. 

715.  The  practice  of  embalming  the  dead  was  known 
in  Egypt,  in  the  most  ancient  times,  but  is  now  unknown  ; 
nor  is  it  important  that  it  be  restored,  as  we  know  of  no 
practical  advantage  it  could  yield.  Still,  what  we  now 
regard  as  unimportant,  and  indeed  what  is  now  so,  may 
yet  be  found  to  have  been  one  of  the  providential  events 
of  ancient  times  for  bringing  down  to  our  day  the  knowl- 
edge of  many  important  facts  that  had  otherwise  been 
lost.  Forty  days  were  required  for  this  process  :  or  tlie 
forty  days  may  be  the  time  allowed  after  the  work  of  em- 
balming was  performed,  to  test  its  perfection. 

716.  The  mourning  ceremonies  lasted  seventy  days  ; 
but  whether  this  includes  the  forty  of  embalming,  we 
cannot  certainly  determine. 

Seventy  days  of  mourning  were  probably  the  usual  terra 
with  the  Egyptians.  The  seven  days  of  mourning,  after 
arriving  in  Canaan,  may  have  been  the  patriarchal  custom. 
Abel-mizraim  means  the  "  mourning  of  the  Egyptians." 


374 


JACOB  AND    HIS   FAMILY. 


A  threshing  floor  was  situated  on  elevated  ground ;  and 
it  was  therefore  a  fit  place  for  the  funeral  festivities,  as 
the  mourning  here  referred  to,  may,  more  appropriately 
be  called. 

SECTION  XXXIV.  —  Death  of  Joseph. 


CHAP.  L. 


14.  And  Joseph  returned  into 
Egypt,  he,  and  his  brethren,  and 
all  that  went  up  with  him  to  bury 
his  father,  after  he  had  buried  his 
father. 

15  And  when  Joseph's  brethren 
saw  that  their  father  was  dead, 
they  said,  Joseph  will  peradven- 
ture  hate  us,  and  will  cei'tainly  re- 
quite us  all  the  evil  which  we  did 
unto  him. 

16.  And  they  sent  a  messenger 
unto  Joseph,  saying,  Thy  father 
did  command  before  he  died  say- 
ing, 

17.  So  shall  ye  say  unto  Joseph, 
Forgive,  I  pray  thee  now,  the  tres- 
pass of  thy  brethren,  and  their  sin; 
for  they  did  unto  thee  evil;  and 
now,  we  pray  thee,  forgive  the 
trespass  of  the  servants  of  the 
God  of  thy  father.  And  Joseph 
wept  when  they  spake  unto  him. 

18.  And  his  brethren  also  went 
and  fell  down  before  his  face ;  and 
they  said,  Behold,  we  be  thy  ser- 
vants. 

19.  And  Joseph  said  unto  them. 
Fear  not,  for  am  I  in  the  place  of 
God? 

20.  But  as  for  you,  ye  thought 


evil  against  me;  it/f  God  meant  it 
unto  good,  to  bring  to  pass,  as  it  is 
this  day,  to  save  much  people  alive. 
*  21.  Now,  therefore  fear  ye  not;  I 
will  nourish  you,  and  your  little 
ones.  And  he  comforted  them,  and 
spake  kindly  unto  them. 

22.  IT  And  Joseph  dwelt  in  Egypt, 
he  and  his  father's  house:  and  Jo- 
seph lived  an  hundred  and  ten 
years. 

23.  And  Joseph  saw  Ephraim's 
children  of  the  third  generation : 
the  chilJren  also  of  Machir,  the  son 
of  Manasseh,  were  brought  upon 
Joseph's  knees. 

24.  And  Joseph  said  unto  his 
brethren,  I  die;  and  God  will  sure- 
ly visit  you,  and  bring  you  out  of 
this  land  unto  the  land  which  he 
sware  to  Abraham,  to  Isaac,  and 
to  Jacob. 

25.  And  Joseph  took  an  oath  of 
the  children  of  Israel,  saying,  God 
will  surely  visit  you,  and  ye  shall 
carry  up  my  bones  from  hence. 

26.  So  Joseph  died,  being  an 
hundred  and  ten  years  old:  and 
they  embalmed  him,  and  he  was 
put  in  a  cofl&n  in  Egypt. 


717.  It  was  quite  natural  that  the  brethren  of  Joseph 
should  entertain  apprehensions  for  their  safety,  now  that 
respect  for  the  aged  and  venerable  patriarch,  would  no 
longer  restrain  him  from  avenging  their  cruelty.  "  Thy 
father  did  command  before  he  died,"  was  the  strongest 
appeal  they  could  make  ;  though  the  gracious  disposition 
of  Joseph,  did  not  need  any  such  appeal.  That  the  father 
did  so  command  we  may  presume,  as  it  is  reasonable  to 
conclude  that  it  would  be  a  matter  of  conversation  among 


JACOB   AND     HIS   FAMILY.  375 


them  ;  and  nothing  is  said  indicating  that  the  story  was 
fabricated.  It  is  interesting  to  see  the  workings  of  human 
nature  in  the  hearts  of  the  brethren,  who  felt  that  they 
had  justly  incurred  his  displeasure,  and  to  see  the  God- 
like temper  and  disposition  of  their  brother,  who  wa>^ 
g:rieved  that  they  should  entertain  any  doubts  ol  his 
gracious  disposition,  and  who   seeks  at  once  to  reassure 

them  on  this  point.  rnr.A  +r. 

718  We  are  not  to  suppose  that  the  purpose  ot  bod  to 
brins:  about  a  good  result,  from  the  sin  of  Joseph  s 
brethren,  does,  in  the  least,  exculpate  the  ofienders. 
Thoudi  ™lty  of  a  base  and  unholy  act,  God  had  made 
that  act  the  instrument  of  good ;  and  now  that  the  good 
was  manifest,  it  was  proper  that  they  should  reproach, 
themselves  no  longer.  ^  t-  i     •  a 

719  Joseph  lived  to  see  the  children  of  Ephraim,  and 
the  ^rand-children  of  Manasseh.  The  generations  here 
alluded  to,  commence  with  Joseph  himself;  hence  the 
children  of  Machir  were  the  fourth  generation. 

720  Joseph  had  been  assured  by  his  father,  that  his 
descendants  would  come  again  into  Canaan,  according  to 
the  divine  promise  ;  and  this  assurance  is  now  repeated  by 
Joseph  himself,  and  made  the  ground  of  an  oath  exacted 
of  his  brethren,  to  bring  him  thither  ^^^^^(1^^  bury  him 
in  the  promised  land -an  oath  that  was  fj^lfiH^^i'/^l^^^ 
the  children  of  Israel  went  up  to  that  country,  under  the 

conduct  of  Moses.  r       ;i  +    ^^^^ 

721  That  the  brethren  of  Joseph  here  referred  to  were 
his  own  brethren,  or  their  children,  we  may  not  certainly 
determine,  as  the  language  may  refer  to  f  t^^r.-  ^^  is^^* 
unreasonable  to  conclude  that  some,  if  not  all  1^^^ |;[ethren , 
were  yet  alive.  The  obligation,  however,  would  be  ieJt 
to  be  binding  on  the  children,  as  well  as  on  the  original 
parties  in  the  contract. 


INDEX  OF  PASSAGES, 


Chapter.  Page. 

I.      1 123 

2 137 

3-5 138 

6-8 140 

9-13 141 

14-19 146 

20-23 148 

24-27 150 

26-31 212 

II.     1-3 157 

4-7 150 

8-17 201 

18-25 214 

III.  1-24 202 

IV.  1-16 217 

17-24 220 

25-26 223 

V.  1-32 221 

VI.  1-4 225 

5-8 174 

8-10 227 

11-13 174 

14-16 184 

17-18 188 

19-20 185 

21-22 187 

Vn.     1 188 

2-3 185 

4-7 188 

8-10 185 

11-13 188 

14-16 185 

17-24 188 

Vm.  1-19...    189 

20-22 227 

IX.     1-7 228 

8-17 230 

18-27 231 

28-29 232 


Chapter.  Page. 

X;      1-5 238 

6-20 235 

21-32 233 

XL       1-9 236 

10-26 233 

27-30 240 

31-32., 241 

XII.  1-9 242 

10-20 243 

XIII.  1-4 243 

5-13 245 

14-18   246 

XIV.  1-24 247 

XV.  1-21 250 

XVI.  1-16 252 

XVII.     1-27 254 

XVm.     1-33 258 

XIX.  1-29 ....260 

30-38 264 

XX.  1-18 265 

XXL       1-8 267 

9-21 268 

22-34 269 

XXIL    1-19 270 

20-24 272 

XXIIL  1-20 273 

XXIV.    1-67 275 

XXV.     1-6 278 

7-11 279 

12-18 280 

19-26 281 

27-34 282 

XXVL     1-22  283 

23-33 285 

34-35 292 

XXVIL  1-40 286 

41-i6 298 

XXVm.    1-22 299 

9 292 


378 


INDEX    OF    PASSAGES 


Chapter. 
XXIX. 


XXX. 


XXXI. 


XXXII. 
XXXIII. 

XXXIV. 
XXXV. 


XXXVI. 


Page. 

1-14 300 

15-30 302 

31-35 303 

1-8 305 

9-13 305 

14-21 304 

22-24 303 

25-43 309 

1-21 311 

22-24 313 

25-55 313 

1-32 316 

1-16 319 

17-20 321 

1-31 321 

1-15 324 

16-27 327 

28-29 329 

1-3   292 

1-19 291 

20-39 295 

40-43 292 

XXXVIL    1-36..... 329 


Chapter. 

Page. 

XXXVIII-  1-30 

33-) 

XXXIX. 

1-23 .... 

337 

XL. 

1-23.... 

339 

XLI. 

1-36 .... 

341 

37-57 

344 

XLII. 

1-38   ... 

...     346 

XLIII. 

1-34 

350 

XLIV. 

1-34.... 

352 

XLV. 

1-15.... 

354 

16-28   .    . 

356 

XLVI. 

1-7 

357 

8-27.... 

307 

28-30  ... 

358 

31-34 

. . .     359 

XLVn. 

1-6 

359 

7-10.... 

360 

11-27.... 

361 

28-31 .... 

363 

XLVIIL 

1-22.... 

364 

XLIX. 

1-28.... 

366 

29-33 

372 

L. 

1-13 

372 

14-26 

374 

DATE  DUE 

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